TheGamingEconomy Daily Digest brings you the trending business stories in gaming. In today’s edition: Typhoon Studios joins Google's Stadia Games and Entertainment; Tencent-backed Global Esports Federation founded; and Twitch Fortnite viewership dips 28% in 2019.

Typhoon Studios joins Google's Stadia Games and Entertainment

Following an acquisition independent developer Typhoon Studios has joined Google's cloud-focused game division Stadia Games and Enetertainment.

Founded in 2017, Typhoon is led by former Electronic Arts executive producer Reid Schneider, and previous Ubisoft creative director Alex Hutchinson. The acquisition - for an undisclosed sum - will see Typhoon work with others in the division to produce exclusive games for the Stadia cloud platform.

"Working with some of the best game creators in the world, we’ve learned that a successful studio comes down to great people who have a vision to execute on the best ideas," said Jade Raymond, P and head, Stadia Games and Entertainment, in a statement. "We’re always looking for people who share our passion and vision for the future of gaming, which is why I’m so excited that Typhoon Studios, the independent developers behind the upcoming Journey to the Savage Planet, is joining Stadia Games and Entertainment."

Tencent-backed Global Esports Federation founded

Tencent is global partner of the newly formed Global Esports Federation, which has been founded so as to host international tournaments and serve as “the voice and authority for the worldwide esports movement.”

As reported by The Esports Observer, which sourced the quote from a press conference, there are already a number of bodies asserting their effort represent esports at a global level. Furthermore, the sector is yet to settle down in terms of the hierarchy of the various bodies and organisations.

With Tencent on board, however, the Singapore-base Global Esports Federation may have what is needed to meet its ambitions.

The group will be headed up by Chris Chan from the Singapore National Olympic Council. Meanwhile, Tencent’s Edward Cheng is on board as a vice-president. Equally, both Wei Jizhong, former secretary-general of the Chinese Olympic Committee and former Olympian and NGU consultants founder Charmaine Crooks will step up as vice-presidents.

Twitch Fortnite viewership dips 28% in 2019

Viewing hours devoted to Fortnite on Twitch dropped 28% in 2019 compared to 2018.

The figures come from analysis by StreamElements and Arsenal.gg. At a time when games exist and thrive as a spectated medium, that drop could be framed as significant. As reported by GamesBeat, the fall doesn't suggest or collate to a general tailing off at Twitch, where overall viewership for 2019 climbed 20% above the previous years figures.

While Fortnite was the most viewed game on Twitch in 2018, it was pushed to second place in 2019 by the high-profile esports title League of Legends. Fortnite enjoyed 884,923,121 hours of viewing time on Twitch in 2019, while League of Legends attracted 990,286,084 hours of spectating. That meant League saw a 7% climb, but did not exceed Fortnite's 2018 total of over 1.2 billion hours.

GamesBeat shared the following round up chart of 2019 Twitch viewing hours from StreamElements and Arsenal.GG.