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It’s the month of love, and we are putting all of our affection to everything tech and gaming! It’s been a low-key month, but there are still some highlights to check out—notably a new iteration of a cult favourite from Apple and PlayStation’s latest first-party title. So check out our round-up of what happened in February 2025; it’s our gift to you.
Housemarque unveils Returnal spiritual successor Saros
Housemarque’s early PlayStation 5 game Returnal was a bold new direction for the team, moving into the third-person space after making their name in the shoot ’em up genre, And it proved to be a successful transition, delivering punishing yet addicting gameplay while keeping their arcade philosophy. Their newest game unfortunately isn’t a sequel to Returnal, but it will bring back much of what fans loved.
As the final announcement for Sony’s February 2025 State of Play, Housemarque announced a new IP they have been working on – Saros. Playing the role of powerful Soltari Enforcer Arjun Devraj (performed by actor Rahul Kohli), your mission is to look for answers on a lost off-world colony on the planet Carcosa.
One of the key gameplay features of Saros is that every death will have you coming back stronger. Players will be able to choose and permanently upgrade their loadout with new weapons and suit upgrades in order to overcome Carcosa’s many dangers. In the trailer, we also see a tease of a boss with similar bullet hell attacks from Returnal.
The game is set to launch for PS5 in 2026, with an extended look first-look at gameplay expected to arrive later this year.
OPPO Find N5 opens up the competition on foldables
For the last few years, foldable smartphones have generally plateaued. But OPPO’s latest foldable might just have taken the scene to the next level.
The OPPO Find N5 is the world’s thinnest book-style foldable, and it isn’t just fancy marketing speak. At 8.93mm when closed, it is noticeably thinner than other foldables—and almost as thick as regular phones like the iPhone 16 Pro. But it has also been made durable, coming with IPX6, IPX8, and IPX9 ratings for water resistance. Users will get to enjoy a large 6.62-inch cover screen, which then opens up to a gigantic 8.12-inch display.
In terms of specs, it is equipped with the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset along with 16GB of RAM. Hasselblad has collaborated to make the camera system, which consists of 50-megapixel main and telephoto lenses plus a 12-megapixel ultrawide. The silicon-carbon battery has a 5,600mAh capacity that OPPO says will easily last more than a day.
It will be available to the Singapore market on 28 February 2025 for S$2,499. You can find out more about the OPPO Find N5 with our article.
Apple debuts the iPhone 16e
The budget-friendly iPhone SE was a popular little smartphone for consumers looking to get into the Apple ecosystem, but there’s not been a new version of the device since 2022. Apple isn’t bringing it back for 2025, instead, it is introducing a spiritual successor.
Apple is launching the iPhone 16e, featuring the design of the iPhone 14 but with the guts of the newer iPhones. That means no more home button; you’ll be using Face ID. Other notable updates include an OLED display for the 6.06-inch screen, the latest A18 chip, Apple Intelligence, the Action Button, and USB-C. At the back, there is a single 48-megapixel rear camera.
However, there are some absentees as well. Firstly, there is no MagSafe support on the iPhone 16e. The 48-megapixel Fusion camera also cannot do macro photography. Lastly, the display remains at a 60Hz refresh rate.
The iPhone 16e will be available on 28 February 2025 and is priced starting at S$949 for the 128GB option.
Warner Bros. Games cancels Wonder Woman game and shuts down Monolith Productions
It’s sad to hear about the cancellation of a game and unfortunately for us, a big title has bit the dust. This month, Warner Bros. Games announced that Monolith Productions’ Wonder Woman game, revealed at The Game Awards in 2021, has been cancelled.
One of the key reasons for the cancellation of the game is a “strategic change in direction”, with Warner Bros. Games instead focusing on franchises like Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC and Game of Thrones. Additionally, Monolith Productions will also be shutting down alongside two other development studios (Player First Games and Warner Bros. Games San Diego).
This news comes in the wake of recent reports of the game encountering developmental difficulties. Bloomberg reports that the Wonder Woman game had to be rebooted, tossing out the promised feature of the Nemesis system for a more traditional style action-adventure game. That new vision will also not see the light of day.
This situation is another painful addition to Warner Bros. Games’ year, which oversaw a US$300 million writedown for the failures of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions and the fighting game MultiVersus.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A arrives in 2025
The Pokémon series has undergone a rare break, with no new games released for 2023 and 2024. But the wait is finally over—Pokémon Legends: Z-A is the next title that fans can look forward to.
Players are brought back to the Kalos region, with the game set entirely in Lumiose City. You’ll also start with one of three partner Pokémon—Chikorita, Tepig, or Totodile—to accompany you on your journey, where new characters and wild pokémon await.
Battles are different from the typical turn-based affair seen in previous titles. Now players have to think strategically about the range of their attacks and also where their pokémon are positioned on the battlefield. Different damage amounts and effects will depend on where your pokémon is on the field.
While no release date was revealed, the game is confirmed to launch in late 2025 for the Nintendo Switch.
This marks 2025 February’s edition of Tech Bytes, and we hope this roundup gives you a little insight into tech to be excited about. Check with us again in March 2025, as we bring you more byte-sized news every month!
Visuals courtesy of OPPO Singapore and Apple Singapore.
