South Korea's leading online gaming firm Nexon Co. said Thursday its net profit soared 63 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier on robust sales of its franchise games.Its net profit came to 350.4 billion won (US$254.6 million) for the April-June period, compared with 234.6 billion won a year ago, the Japan-listed firm said in a regulatory filing.Operating profit surged 64 percent on-year to 397.4 billion won, and sales advanced 30 percent to 1.08 trillion won.Nexon said its second-quarter earnings improved as its game titles delivered strong performances, especially in the overseas markets.The combined sales of three major franchises -- Dungeon and Fighter, MapleStory and FC -- increased 57 percent on-year, mainly driven by the popularity of Dungeon and Fighter Mobile in China.The company raised over 60 percent of its total sales from overseas on strong demand for its role-playing game (RPG) Blue Archive in Japan and Southeast Asia, and shooter title The Finals in North America and Eu rope.Its global looter shooter game The First Descendant also gained popularity since its release in July, becoming the most-sold game worldwide, according to Nexon.The company also plans to release new titles for the global market, including action RPG The First Berserker: Khazan and shooting game ARC Raiders.Nexon was founded in South Korea in 1994 but is headquartered in Japan. The company's stocks were listed on the Tokyo stock exchange in late 2011.Source : Yonhap News Agency