NK cells are the main cells of the innate immune system that produce IFN‐γ, and they express this cytokine at early stages of maturation in response to cytokine stimulation. Conversely, acquisition of IFN‐γ‐competence in CD4+T helper cells requires a differentiation process from naïve toward type 1 (Th1) cells, which is associated with epigenetic remodeling at the IFNG locus. In the present study, we show that the ability of NK cells to produce IFN‐γ in response to activating receptor (actR) engagement is gradually acquired during terminal differentiation and is accompanied by progressively higher NF‐κB activation in response to actR triggering. Moreover, during the differentiation process NK cells gradually display increasing expression of IFNG and TBX21 (encoding T‐bet) transcripts and demethylation at the IFNG promoter. This study provides new insights in the molecular mechanisms underlying NK‐cell ability to express IFN‐γ upon actR engagement. Thus, we propose that in order to efficiently produce IFN‐γ in response to infected or transformed cells, NK cells gain Th1‐like features, such as higher IFN‐γ competence and epigenetic remodeling of the IFNG promoter, during their terminal differentiation.