Miami Beach also surrenders to GTA VI: seafront advertising in a deal worth around $4 million

The Kaseya Center sign is not the only corner of Miami turned into a GTA VI billboard. According to TechTimes, Miami Beach’s commission voted on September 10, by a tight 4-3 margin, to let Rockstar advertise the game along the seafront from October 15 through December 31. The deal could be worth close to $4 million for the city.

The format is notable for its restraint: the “Vice City” brand and the Roman numeral “VI” will appear on beach chairs and umbrellas managed by Boucher Brothers, the city’s licensed operator, rather than on buildings or landmarks. And there is a striking condition: the words “Grand Theft Auto” are specifically prohibited in public spaces under the agreement’s terms. The fiction can be advertised; the game’s real name cannot.

Meanwhile, downtown Miami is advancing an ordinance, already past its first reading, that would grant Rockstar signage waivers for up to six large banners downtown over the same period, a type of authorization usually reserved for events on the scale of a FIFA World Cup. The permit revenue would go to the heritage trail beneath the I-395 bridge.

The push is not without resistance: Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez publicly criticized the Kaseya Center deal, arguing the franchise promotes violence against police officers, a position shared by county sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz. Even so, between the $975,000 sign, the Miami Beach seafront and the downtown banners, GTA VI’s outdoor campaign in Miami has no precedent in the industry: no gaming company had ever converted a real American city’s public spaces into an ad for its fictional counterpart.

Everything suggests the pace will only pick up until November 19.