Square Enix has confirmed that boxed retail copies of it’s latest release, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, will come with a free code for the game on cloud service OnLive.

OnLive is an interesting new service, due to make its UK debut in September, which allows gamers to play AAA games through a PC or Mac client application, or a tiny set-top box. All the processing takes place in a data centre, then the resulting video and audio is streamed over the web to your screen. OnLive claims their technology makes the experience as smooth as playing the game on a local device, avoiding the need to pay for expensive computing hardware or consoles to play the latest games.

While the company operates a monthly subscription service called PlayPack that gives access to a library of mainstream and indie games, membership on the service itself is free. By plugging in one of Square’s Deus Ex codes, players can start experiencing the stealth/action/RPG hybrid immediately with no need to download or install code.

In our testing, we’ve found that OnLive’s service is no competitor to a serious gaming PC, with input lag and video compression being particular issues. However, with a game that requires less in the way of reactions, we could see this appealing to gamers whose systems aren’t capable of taking the stress of running the latest titles. Certainly, we’d take advantage of a free copy, if only for a backup service to use while travelling, while using secondary computers or if your console is inaccessible.

Not everyone is entirely happy with Square’s move. According to enthusiast blog OnLive Spot, employees of US high street retail chain GameStop have been ordered to open the boxes and remove codes before selling the game to customers. OnLive Spot posted the following email, allegedly sent by Field Operations Manager Josh Ivanoff:

Gamestop PR representative Beth Sharum confirmed the policy, and defended their actions, claiming that, “Square Enix packed the competitor’s coupon with our Deus Ex: Human Revolution product without our prior knowledge and we did pull and discard these coupons.”

While this seems at first sight like an underhanded and possibly illegal practice, GameStop may have a point. Square have in effect forced retailers to give away free passes to a direct competitor, not only to them as an individual business, but to the entire bricks-and-mortar sector as a whole.

However, despite the justification for GameStop’s action, the person losing out most here is the consumer. US gamers are advised to avoid purchasing DX:HR from GameStop if they value the free code, or if they would like to express their disapproval at the store’s tactics.

We are yet to see any UK game shops adopting similar policies, but commercial priorities being what they are, it may not be long before the conflict between traditional and digital retailers graces our shores.

Update: According to tech news site Ars Technica, GameStop has responded to the controversy by pulling all copies of the game from it’s shelves, and offering refunds to unhappy customers returning their copies to the store. GameStop will not be selling any more copies of Deus Ex through its retail locations until provided with copies without OnLive coupons.

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