In what appears to be an odd twist, Citadel Studios announced today that Shards Online will be changing course for the remainder of its development. Taking feedback from fans into account, the company is "ditching the low number of players per shard and small amount of land-space in Celador." It will now become a "full-fledged MMORPG" called "Legends of Aria" that will feature "a landmass more fitting for thousands of players at once on each server."

Features noted in the press release include the following.

Unique biomes, including deserts, forests, snowy mountains, and swamps.

Mounts.

Camps of some sort that players can set up.

Fishing.

Archery.

More dungeons.

More crafting.

Full-loot PvP with guard-protected safe havens.

A "crime and punishment" system that will be detailed "closer to launch."

You can see some of the upcoming additions and changes that are being made to the game in the trailer embedded below. The official website is currently down, but you will be able to find it here when it comes back online.

I reached out to Derek Brinkmann and have received confirmation that the team still plans to support community servers despite now developing a "full-fledged MMORPG." Furthermore, the goal is still to release on Steam sometime this Spring, but it is not a certainty.