What is Facebook up to next? Hot off the release of the time-lapse app Hyperlapse for Instagram, Facebook has confirmed that it has brought in several people from WaveGroup Sound to join the company.
WaveGroup has collaborated with Facebook in the past, creating in-app notification sounds for Messenger and Slingshot as well as Instagram Bolt, so it's not entirely surprising when several former employees from the sound studio transitioned to the social network.
Facebook, however, clarified that the members of the company's official in-house sound design team that came from WaveGroup went through the regular hiring process. It was not an acquisition as earlier reported.
While the social network has not made any comments about its plans involving audio content, it appears that big things are on the horizon given the need to actually create an in-house sound design team.
Since Facebook is pursuing standalone mobile apps, the formation of an in-house sound design team can mean a focus on sound for the company's next release. If Instagram's Hyperlapse is indicative of the quality of the apps that Facebook is looking to churn out, it's safe to be excited.
WaveGroup is a sound studio based in Burlingame, California. It specializes in creating sounds for games, getting involved in more than 100 titles including producing tracks for Guitar Hero, Dance Dance Revolution, and Rock Band installments. Some of the notable clients the company has worked with in the past include: Activision, Acclaim Games, Harmonix, Sega, Red Octane, Microsoft, and Konami. Outside of working with Facebook, WaveGroup recently provided music tracks for Star Wars: Commander, a real-time strategy game for iOS pitting Rebel forces against the Empire. The sound studio also produced sounds for Jawbone's Era Bluetooth headset and Jambox speaker series.
More people might recognize WaveGroup, however, for their work on making cover versions for existing songs, separating tracks to make it easier for people to create their own remixes or use the sound files in other applications.
WaveGroup's amassed a lot of experience in the near-20 years it's been part of the sound industry, so it's definitely a good call on Facebook's part to hire people from the sound studio, regardless of what it's planning.
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