App & Gaming Forum 2026: When sustainable growth begins with a robust operational foundation.

The App & Gaming Forum 2026 has just concluded, leaving many noteworthy insights for the Vietnamese app and game community in the context of a rapidly changing market, increasing growth costs, and growing pressure for international expansion.

In partnership with Meta, Airwallex had the opportunity to connect with game studios, publishers, and growth teams in the industry to review the latest market movements, update on notable trends, and discuss growth strategies for the next phase.

One of the most striking aspects of the event was the re-evaluation of the growth equation. For app and game businesses aiming for international markets, growth is no longer confined to user acquisition or performance marketing. Behind the rapid expansion lies the need to build a sufficiently flexible operational platform so that businesses can scale faster, more sustainably, and maintain better control when entering multiple markets.

International growth is no longer solely a marketing story.

Sharing at the event shows that the app and game industry today is entering a new phase, where growth is no longer a separate issue between product, marketing, and operations. With user behavior constantly changing, advertising costs fluctuating, and competition increasing, businesses need to view growth as a tightly interconnected system across multiple layers of operations.

This is also reflected in the practical perspectives from businesses in the industry revolving around growth, AI, and optimizing advertising performance. Instead of focusing solely on buying more traffic or improving a few short-term metrics, many teams are shifting to a longer-term mindset: how to achieve growth while maintaining operational efficiency as scale grows.

Flexible financial operations are a real competitive advantage.

Another key takeaway from the App & Gaming Forum 2026 is the increasingly important role of back-office operational infrastructure. In a business environment requiring quick decision-making, continuous testing, and expansion into multiple markets, streamlining complex financial tasks is no longer just about back-office optimization. It has become an operational advantage that can directly impact growth rate. For app and game businesses, especially those working with multiple partners, payment regions, and international cash flows, flexibility in financial infrastructure helps teams reduce operational friction, optimize cash flow, and dedicate more resources to strategic priorities such as product, growth, and market expansion. It is within this context that the role of a global financial platform like Airwallex becomes even more apparent. Instead of leaving businesses to handle multiple layers of complex processes behind the scenes, Airwallex simplifies cross-border payments, supports more efficient cash flow management, and creates a solid operational foundation for scaling up.

When AI, advertising, and finance need to be connected in the same growth strategy.

The event also featured many practical insights from businesses and industry speakers, including Hungry Studio – the company behind Block Blast! – along with Vietnamese studios such as Bravestar and Panthera. The stories shared revealed a common thread: businesses are constantly adapting to market changes by simultaneously optimizing multiple links, from growth strategies and advertising effectiveness to AI applications and behind-the-scenes operational capabilities. This is why growth in the app and game industry today is no longer solely about marketing or product. To go further in the international market, businesses need a robust structure to connect many elements: go-to-market strategy, advertising scalability, decision-making speed, payment infrastructure, and global financial management.

When these pieces are effectively linked, businesses not only accelerate better in the short term but also build a more sustainable foundation for long-term growth.

What does the App & Gaming Forum 2026 suggest for Vietnamese businesses?

From the content shared at the event, it can be seen that the international expansion journey of app and game businesses will increasingly require a more comprehensive mindset. Growth is not just about finding new users, but also about better operational capabilities as businesses enter the scaling phase.

For Airwallex, this is also a long-term partnership strategy for Vietnamese businesses aiming for global reach. By simplifying international payments, optimizing cash flow, and improving financial operational efficiency, Airwallex helps businesses build a flexible platform to grow more confidently across multiple markets.

App & Gaming Forum 2026 is more than just a place to update