Citadel Studios — as promised! — dropped some big news earlier this week…although if you’ve been following the development of Legends of Aria for some time now, it probably can’t be said that it’s surprising news:

Today, Citadel Studios is proud to announce that its flagship sandbox MMORPG Legends of Aria will be coming to Steam Early Access on December 4th, 2018. The wait is finally over, and the world of Aria is almost ready to be explored by all. All those who pre-order the game between now and December 3rd will be able to take part in the 7-Day Head Start and obtain all of the other Founder’s Packs bonuses, including the chance to lay claim to their own plots of land and build their homes before anyone else.

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Legends of Aria is the spiritual successor to classic MMORPGs – a massive, player-run world in a modern and beautifully realized setting. It’s a return to the sort of game where player choice and freedom is paramount, where hand-holding and gear scores have no place.

Take a look at the Steam Launch Trailer revealed today. It highlights some of the many different roles a player can take on during their time in Aria.

Here’s the trailer, by the way:

Citadel are also holding a series of contests in the run-up to the Steam launch, the first of which will win you an ASUS GTX 1080 graphics card (among other fine things). Entries for that can be submitted here, at which site you can also find contest details.