Rockstar Games is pouring money into what is shaping up to be one of the largest marketing pushes in entertainment history. After the gameplay reveal on Netflix and a wave of merch and add-ons, including an album of original music made for GTA 6, the campaign has moved out of the internet and into physical space. The target is Miami – the real-world city that the fictional Vice City is built on – ahead of the November 19 release.
Not everyone in city government is on board. Some officials welcome the campaign and hope it pulls in tourists and extra revenue. Others have been pushing back for weeks.
Officials are split over the Vice City branding
County Commissioner René Garcia said he is “really uncomfortable with this whole thing” and objected to the city working with a game that, in his words, depicts Miami as a crime haven and a murder capital.
Garcia and other officials are reportedly trying to block further negotiations with Rockstar about expanding the campaign. Those talks allegedly cover advertising at Miami International Airport and a $4 million transformation of Miami Beach. The rollout was expected to start as early as October 15, though Miami journalist Joel Franco reported that an unnamed official doubts the deals will be signed in time. The details were laid out in The Miamian.
A glowing sign, a themed NBA game and stadium takeovers
In September, Rockstar paid just under $1 million to install a huge glowing “Welcome to Vice City” sign on top of the Kaseya Center, home of the Miami Heat. The same arena will host an unprecedented NBA game sponsored by Rockstar Games: on November 18, the Heat face the Milwaukee Bucks on a Vice City-themed court, wearing never-before-seen jerseys inspired by GTA 6. The arena will also sell Vice City merch, and Rockstar and the NBA are billing the whole thing as a “night in Vice City”.
Over the weekend, Hard Rock Stadium – home of the Miami Dolphins – was plastered with GTA 6 ads. The jumbotron ran spots promoting the release date, and every touchdown triggered a GTA 6-themed animation with the text “In for VI”, a nod to the six points on the board.
And now a Goodyear blimp
A Goodyear blimp wearing Vice City livery is currently flying south out of Akron, Ohio, with a scheduled stop in North Carolina. There is speculation it will eventually reach Florida, possibly for sporting events or other planned marketing activations in the coming weeks. Rockstar has also put up at least one Vice City mural in Miami.
What it means for you
For players, this is a clear signal of how hard Rockstar is going at the November 19 date – and how much of the hype is now happening offline, where you cannot avoid it even if you are dodging trailers. If the Miami deals fall through, the most visible pieces may simply shift to stadiums and events outside the city.
If you want to catch up on everything around the launch, we have written about the GTA 6 radio stations, the age ratings and the ongoing Cyberleek leaks. Everything else sits in our GTA news hub.
FAQ
Rockstar is promoting November 19 as the release date, and the entire Miami marketing push is built around it.
On November 18, the Miami Heat play a regular season game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Kaseya Center on a Vice City-themed court, with new jerseys inspired by GTA 6. Rockstar sponsors the event, which is billed as a “night in Vice City”.
County Commissioner René Garcia said he is uncomfortable with the city partnering on a game that depicts Miami as a crime haven and a murder capital. Other supporters hope the campaign boosts tourism and revenue.
In September, Rockstar paid just under $1 million to install a large glowing sign on top of the Kaseya Center, the Miami Heat’s arena.
The Goodyear blimp with Vice City livery flew south out of Akron, Ohio, with a stop scheduled in North Carolina. A trip to Florida is only speculation at this point.