Rockstar’s $975,000 GTA 6 “Welcome to Vice City” marketing deal raises eyebrows after Miami-Dade signs off without county board vote
A helicopter spent Tuesday afternoon lowering giant pink letters onto the roof of the Kaseya Center, home of the Miami Heat, spelling “Welcome to Vice City.” That would be quite a shock for anyone flying into Miami International Airport who isn’t aware of GTA VI’s approaching release date, slated for November 19, 2026.
Spotted by the Miami Herald, by evening, the poster was bolted in place, and GTA VI’s real-world marketing campaign had reached its first major landmark just two months before launch.
An oblivious commission?
All of this happened right before the county’s own commission figured out what was going on, and its members didn’t even know about the contract.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava struck a deal with Rockstar Games, the Miami Heat, arena operators, and delegated her authority to approve the poster without any votes from the 13-member Board of County Commissioners.
That’s because the deal was closed at $975,000, just $25,000 shy of the threshold at which the Board of County Commissioners would have had to vote on the matter.
A board divided
Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez and Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz had already asked the county, via an official statement, to reject any partnerships with Rockstar Games to promote Grand Theft Auto VI because of the game’s depiction of violence against police officers. What’s more interesting is that several commissioners learned the deal had been signed during a budget hearing that ran past 1 a.m.
Commissioner Juan Carlos and Sheriff Rosie aren’t quite happy about the violence portrayed in GTA games appearing over Miami-Dade County. The duo is concerned that this will attract unwarranted attention to the county while promoting a fictional setting built on crime and violence.
Commissioner Bermudez issued an official statement weeks earlier regarding the transformation of Miami-Dade County into Vice City, stating:
“I still cannot believe that we are even considering temporarily rebranding important County assets, including Miami International Airport, as ‘Vice City Airport.’ Miami-Dade County has spent decades building a reputation as a world-class destination for tourism, business, investment, and opportunity. We should be promoting the Miami-Dade we have worked so hard to build, not a fictional version of our community defined by crime and violence.”
Sheriff Cordero-Stutz also commented at the time, stating:
“I believe we need to seriously consider the message we send when our own government promotes a fictional identity centered around many of those same crimes. Miami-Dade County is not Vice City.”
Irrespective of their feelings, the campaign seems to be here to stay and is only the beginning as Rockstar gears up to market GTA 6 in earnest on multiple platforms.
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