Photo of a print out of the alleged email sent by GameStop management.

Excerpt from email regarding the DXHR OnLive codes.

Yesterday cloud gaming company OnLive and publisher Square Enix announced a Deus Ex: Human Revolution launch promotion that included a free OnLive version of the game with all PC retail copies. However, mega retailer GameStop did not want to take part in the promo and took steps to make sure its customers wouldn't either.We received reports from a handful of GameStop customers claiming that their new PC boxed copies of DXHR were opened and the OnLive codes were missing. We also received evidence from an anonymous tipster suggesting that it was GameStop management that made the decision to physcially remove the OnLive codes from its PC copies of the game.Below is a photo of an email printout allegedly sent by GameStop management. We've blurred out the contact information of the person who sent the email, but we did phone the individual and confirm he is a GameStop employee. The individual declined to comment on the OnLive codes and immediately directed us to GameStop's media relations department.We then contacted GameStop public relations representative Beth Sharum. In an email reply, Sharum said she needed to further research the issue before providing a detailed response., she did confirm GameStop intentionally removed the OnLive coupons:"Square Enix packed the competitor's coupon with our DXHR product without our prior knowledge and we did pull and discard these coupons," Sharum said.To put the value of the promotion in context, OnLive is also selling DXHR through its online platform for $49.99.We spoke with an OnLive representative who said the company is just now being made aware of the issue and was not prepared to comment. We also reached out to Square Enix and will update this story with any response.In April, GameStop acquired streaming tech company Spawn Labs and digital distribution platform Impulse. With the acquisitions, the retailer positioned itself to launch a hybrid Steam/OnLive service that will allow gamers to purchase and download full video games or stream and play them on demand. GameStop's fully integrated Impulse service launched in July and its game streaming service is now in beta testing.We spoke with our resident legal expert, Los Angeles-based attorney, Eric Neigher (author of GameSpy's Objection! columns) to get his quick opinion on the issue. Contracts is the name of this game, Neigher said, stating that whether or not GameStop actually broke any laws depends on the legal agreements it has with Square Enix, and conversely, the contract OnLive has with Square. Here's Eric:"Obviously, when one corporation tries to submarine another, and goes about it in a more or less shady way, it looks bad. But, from a legal perspective, a lot depends on what kinds of contracts OnLive had with Square, and in turn that Square had with GameStop. If removing this coupon from the PC boxes violated the terms of that contract, obviously GameStop is liable to be sued. If not, there's still an issue as to their responsibility to give purchasers what they expect to be paying for, including, perhaps, marketing materials."An Objection! column on this very subject is now in the works, so we'll have the full legal breakdown in the near future.Big story. Consumers who were expecting the free OnLive DXHR coupon are obviously outraged. The question is, does GameStop have the right to crack open copies of the game and remove the competitor's coupons?