Trion are going to be celebrating the six-month birthday of Rift by offering up a host of in-game rewards and competitions with some pretty cool prizes, for anyone who dabbles in the MMO.

Put on your party hats, log in, and help Trion celebrate six months of Rift. Today marks the beginning of a weeklong half-birthday celebration commemorating six fantastic months of the wildly successful MMORPG. Through August 31st, subscribers will be treated to substantial in-game bonuses, including extra XP, PvP Prestige and Favor, and a special surprise birthday gift.

Participants also have the chance to win one of three gaming desktops, NVIDIA GTX460 video cards, and six months of game time by participating in the following contests running throughout the week:

• Ace of Achievements – Accomplish as many achievements as possible August 25-31 for the chance to win big!
  
• Birthday Bakeoff – Dust off that cake tin and get cracking on an epic confectionary creation! Submit pictures via facebook and the official forums of your most Rift-acular birthday cake.
  
• Screenshot Savant – Submit a screenshot of your character celebrating Rift’s half-birthday in the least appropriate spot (or fashion) for a party in Telara. He or she who parties the hardest wins the prize!

It's always good seeing developers of persistent worlds engaging with their community like this. Are you still playing Rift? If so, drop us a line in the Comments section about your experiences with it.

Also, click here for a full run-down of competition rules.