New and former Rift players are invited to check out a full weekend's worth of the game for free. From January 19-22nd, players can take advantage of the entire game for no cost.

The Rift team has also laid out details about the forthcoming v1.7 "Carnival of the Ascended" update that will likely arrive prior to the game's first anniversary. Among the new or improved features in 1.7 are:

• New Chronicle: River of Souls
• Weddings
• Prestige system improvements
• Expert Mode improvements and the merging of Tier 1 & Tier 2 dungeon modes
• Caduceus Rise Master Mode
• Endgame gear upgrade for level 45+ items
• Carnival of the Ascended live event