Earlier today, GameStop pulled all PC copies of Deus Ex: Human Revolution from shelves after it was caught opening boxes, removing a promotional code then selling these games as "new".
People were quick to blame GameStop, as is often the case, and while the retailer still shoulders some blame in this (if only for the practice of opening then re-selling games), the game's publisher Square Enix appears willing to fall on a sword and accept a little responsibility, saying it respects Gamestop's "right" to mess with the game and that it didn't tell the retail giant it was including free coupons for a direct competitor.
"As part of Deus Ex: Human Revolution's boxed offering on PC, Square Enix included a third party coupon", says a statement released by the publisher. "GameStop was not made aware of this inclusion and Square Enix respects the right of GameStop to have final say over the contents of products it sells and to adjust them where they see fit in accordance with their policies."
It's funny that GameStop would take such drastic action over a game that, Onlive coupon or not, was still being bought in its stores. What's it going to do next, yank every game that has a mandatory Steam installation?
You can contact Luke Plunkett, the author of this post, at plunkett@kotaku.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.