The one-day conference F2P Summit is due to take place in Shoreditch, London on Wednesday 28 March 2012 and the first of its keynote speakers has been announced.

Ben Cousins, general manager of ngmoco, will give a talk entitled Free to Play: Past, Present & Future, in which he'll track the evolution of the free-to-play model from its humble beginnings in the East to the global phenomenon it's become.

Back to the future

Specifically Cousin's presentation will start with The past: What was the state of the business model and the West's perception of it in 2005?

Also covering The present: What is the current state of the industry, the biggest players, the current monetisation techniques and the prevailing consumer attitude?

Ending with The Future: Extrapolating current trends, what can we learn about how predominant and large the free-to-play model will be in 2020?

Other confirmed sessions include: NaturalMotion's Struan Robertson talking about iOS hit My Horse; Phil White,veep of Jagex's 8Realms operation talking about Broader Audiences in Games; and 10 Ten Tips for Successfully Using Data To Improve Online Game Revenue & Player Satisfaction from GamesAnalytics' Chris Wright.

Check out the F2P Summit website for details on registration and additional speakers.