Microsoft’s $68.7 billion, all cash deal for Activision Blizzard, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, could be an epoch-defining, Bob Iger-style land grab for C.E.O. Satya Nadella, rivaling Disney’s $71 billion deal for Fox. Gaming, after all, is under growing pressure to consolidate as the pressure to scale in a direct-to-consumer subscription market puts a premium on marketable I.P. assets. Microsoft, despite its incredible market capitalization, doesn’t actually turn a profit on its Xbox console hardware. And Activision, whose stock price collapsed amid a sexual harassment scandal, presented a ripe acquisition target. The company’s embattled C.E.O., Bobby Kotick, is expected to step down after the deal closes, ending the fevered speculation over Kotick’s fate at the company.