This was originally developed as an MMO and later repurposed into a single-player game, right?
It feels like it, in many ways yes. Scaled down quite a bit and called it a day.
The game is structured in a very weird way, which also makes me wonder. Every story element is contained in its own level and isn't in contact with the game world.
So the first mission is in its own isolated level, like the first mission of DAO. Then you're put into an "open world", but that world isn't really open, it's several different areas you can travel to.
None of these areas tie directly to the main plot, but when you finish enough quests in an area, you are whisked away into a separate "instance" where the main plot continues.
So none of the large areas are connected to the main plot. It's all very sloppy and seemingly hastily thrown together.