As casual gamers, it's not uncommon for us to pick up a game, play it for a while, and then set it aside as life gets busy or other things take priority or we just get tired of playing the game. For most console games, this isn't a big deal. The game is still there for us to return to when things settle down, exactly like we left it. It's a little bit different for Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games, however. Often updates and patches move storylines forward, or guild members and friends made through the game progress while our unplayed characters sit statically. Often this makes it tougher to return to an MMO than other games.

The companies behind MMOs recognize this difficulty of returning to their games. Of course, they want you to come back, since they count on subscriptions or microtransactions to keep their games going and turn a profit. It's common for these companies to offer incentives to return to the game - free play time, enhanced experience, etc., all designed to lure you back.

I don't know if there has been a sudden drop in the player bases of MMOs, but over the past few weeks it seems like a lot of the games are offering added incentives to get players to return. They want you back. Here are some of the incentives, offers, and draws being put out in hopes of getting you to return to the fold, some new, some old:

Aion: Unfortunately, the incentive has passed, but for one weekend (July 30th - August 2nd), NCsoft reactivated all valid Aion accounts, free of charge. The weekend happened to correspond with a double experience weekend, meaning you could log onto your lapsed account, play for a few days with twice the experience, which would hopefully remind you how much you loved to play the game and get you to activate your account again. I'm not sure how successful it was, but there's a good chance Aion will try this again in the future.

EverQuest: The original MMO recently announced their 17th expansion, EverQuest: House of Thule, which increases the level cap to 90 and offers player housing. You're not getting anything in particular for returning, but new content frequently draws players back in.

EverQuest II: In a rather controversial move that contradicted previous denials, Sony Online Entertainment announced that EverQuest II will move to a free-to-play (F2P) model later this year with EverQuest II Extended. Added content and options can be purchased through microtransactions, but the base game will be free for players - a move that is sure to draw back older players and even catch the attention of those who never gave the sequel a try in the first place. Switching to F2P doesn't mean the game is dead, however, with another expansion already in the works.

Lord of the Rings Online: Another MMO to make the switch to a F2P model, LotRO actually made the announcement before EverQuest II and has already come out of the closed beta. I've read more than one editorial from players who returned to the game simply because it no longer carries a monthly fee: proof that the F2P model will get players back into the game.

Star Trek Online: It's hard to believe this game is getting a listing here. Only six months from its release, it really hasn't been around long enough that I would expect incentives for players to return. Unfortunately, the incentive has ended by now, but this past weekend (August 7th-9th) players with lapsed accounts were permitted to log into the game to check out all the content that has been added since the game came out, including minigames that weren't there before.

Ultima Online: I have to be honest. I didn't even realize Ultima Online was still around. The game is offering a new event called "A Call to Arms," with new accounts getting gold, skill point boosts, and premium armor and weaponry. Older players have the potential for skill point boosts when they team up with newer players (offering an incentive to get your friend to join). It's also been announced that live events will be returning to the online world - a key feature of the game that fell by the wayside over the years.

World of Warcraft: It's not new, but WoW continues to offer the Scroll of Resurrection, which earns a player a month of free game time if they manage to get a friend to return to the game (there's no real incentive for the player who is coming back though, beyond 10 days of free play). Of course, the requirements for using the Scroll of Resurrection have become ridiculously outdated (the returning player's account can't have been upgraded to Wrath of the Lich King yet). Of course, the upcoming Cataclysm expansion will be incentive for just about anyone to return to the game, with the entire core world being redone.