Miami is starting to look like Vice City. A giant “Welcome to Vice City” sign sits on top of the Miami Heat’s arena, beach umbrellas carry the letters VI, and billboards across downtown advertise brands that only exist inside Grand Theft Auto VI. The game is set in Leonida, a fictional Florida, and its biggest city is Rockstar’s version of Miami. With launch set for November 19, Rockstar is bringing the fiction onto the real streets.
The Sign Planes See First
The centrepiece went up on September 22. A helicopter lifted the letters of a “Welcome to Vice City” sign one by one onto the roof of the Kaseya Center, home of the Miami Heat. The sign covers about 4,690 square feet and is angled toward planes landing at Miami International Airport and toward TV cameras during Heat broadcasts.
Rockstar paid Miami-Dade County, which owns the arena, $975,000 for the placement. That figure sits $25,000 under the $1 million threshold that would have required a county commission vote, and Mayor Daniella Levine Cava approved it directly. The sign stays up until April 11, 2027, the date of the Heat’s final home game.
The arena has history with the game. It appeared in GTA 6’s first trailer in December 2023.
What Miami Beach Agreed To
On September 10, the Miami Beach city commission voted 4 to 3 to allow Vice City branding on the beach. Since October 15, pink and blue umbrellas and loungers run by concession operator Boucher Brothers have carried “VI” and “Vice City” logos. The deal runs until December 31 and has been reported as worth between $3 million and nearly $4 million.
The terms keep it discreet. The words “Grand Theft Auto” are banned from public spaces, city property such as lifeguard stands is off limits, and the ads pause during Art Basel in December. The game itself features a parody of Boucher Brothers called Sol Sisters.
Above the sand, a Vice City blimp has flown over the beach and the Kaseya Center, a plane has towed a GTA banner along the shore and boats fitted with digital screens have advertised the Vault, a nightclub from the game.
Brands That Only Exist in Vice City
Downtown, the City of Miami approved an ordinance allowing temporary oversized GTA 6 banners in a set event area from October 15. The ads that followed treat the game’s fictional brands as if they were real.
A tower wrap several floors high shows red lips over a lipstick under the line “These are Dix lips,” with a QR code in the corner. A billboard for Juice Loose promises to keep “America on the move.” Another, for a cartoon kids’ show called Macca & Friends, carries the launch date in plain sight with the line “Coming November 19 on Weazel,” the game’s fictional media network.
In Wynwood, digital boards and street kiosks rotate ads for Weazel News, the Vault nightclub and the fictional carmaker Pfister between real adverts. Some carry the innuendo Rockstar is known for, with lines such as “always come early” and “suddenly you’re big enough.” Metrorail pillars, buses and taxis have also carried Vice City branding. Ads for the game’s beers, Pißwasser and Patriot, have reportedly appeared outside Miami bars.
Photos shared online also show digital highway signs reading “Don’t Drink & Drive. GTA 6 Is A Month Away.”
Cars, a Film Crew and a Basketball Court
A fleet of cars from the game has turned up on Ocean Drive. Real versions of the Cheetah, Coquette D10, Tempesta and Emerus have been spotted, alongside a Lamborghini wrapped in Vice Beach Police livery and cars wearing Vice City number plates. A film crew was seen shooting with the cars on South Beach, fuelling talk of a live-action promo.
The biggest single event is still to come. On November 18, the night before launch, the Heat will play the Milwaukee Bucks as “Vice City” in an event called A Night in Vice City. The team will play on a specially built Vice City Court in reimagined uniforms. Burger Shot and Cluckin’ Bell, the game’s fast food chains, have already opened inside the arena.
What Miami Said No To
Miami-Dade County wanted to go further. In a June presentation, county officials floated wrapped aircraft and themed baggage claim at Miami International Airport, branded Metromover and Metrorail stations, a mural at PortMiami, themed manhole covers downtown and a car festival at Tropical Park.
The plan stalled after pushback. Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz and Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez issued a joint statement opposing it, with Bermudez objecting to a possible “Vice City Airport” and arguing that the game glorifies violence against police. The county’s chief judge asked for all courthouses to be kept out of any marketing. The county’s wider package is now on hold, leaving the arena sign as its main deal.
Why Miami, and Why Now
Rockstar has not formally announced the Miami campaign. Much of it has been documented by fans and local press as it appeared. It sits inside a short, dense push. Take-Two chief executive Strauss Zelnick said in May that the company would not buy much network television and would instead run a “very significant” campaign reflecting “where audiences and attention are today.”
That campaign runs about 5 months, against 22 months for GTA V. It includes a 27 minute gameplay showcase that drew 31.1 million Netflix views in its first 4 days, joint billboards with Spotify in Los Angeles, New York and Miami, and a 34 track album with Atlantic Records releasing on launch day. Newzoo estimates first week digital preorders at around $260 million globally.
Miami is the one place where every ad can double as a piece of the game world. The city is already the setting, so Rockstar is simply putting up the signs.
Campaign Name: Not mentioned (Rockstar has not officially named or announced the campaign)
Agency Name: Not mentioned
Brand Name: Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto VI
Location: Miami and Miami Beach, Florida (October 15 to December 31, 2026, with the Kaseya Center sign up until April 11, 2027)
