The paperwork may still be stuck in signature purgatory, but Grand Theft Auto VI has arrived on Miami Beach anyway. Over the past two days, branded beach gear has turned up on South Beach and plane banners tied to the game have flown over the coast, even though the formal deal with the city behind the branding was reported as unsigned just days ago.
Reporter Joel Franco posted video footage and photos on October 14 showing GTA 6 beach umbrellas, marked with the game's "VI" logo and palm-tree art, sitting on South Beach. For now they are rolled up and stored in secure boxes on the sand. A worker told Franco the umbrellas are expected to go up this weekend. Custom Vice City and VI beach chairs have started arriving on site too.
Overhead, the campaign is already visible. Planes have been towing giant banners for NINE1NINE, the in-game nightclub that parodies the real South Beach club E11EVEN, over Miami Beach. Photos and videos circulated on October 14 showing the banners in the air, recreating the banner-towing plane from the first GTA 6 trailer. It is not confirmed who is behind the flights, but given that we've gotten a blimp out of this campaign already, we can only assume that this is just part of Rockstar Games' machinations.
What's live on Miami Beach now
Activation | Status as of October 14 to 15 |
|---|---|
NINE1NINE plane banners | Flying over South Beach, recreating the Trailer 1 scene, source unconfirmed |
VI beach umbrellas | On the sand, staged in secure boxes, a worker says they go up this weekend |
Vice City and VI beach chairs | Arriving on site |
The official city and Amplify deal | Reported as unsigned, having likely missed the October 15 target |
The gear is on the sand even as the paperwork reportedly lags behind.
We reported days ago that the Miami Beach branding deal, handled through the firm Amplify Marketing, was not yet signed and would likely miss its October 15 deadline. Technically, the report still stands, but the physical rollout is happening regardless. Either the signature and approval are still coming, or the marketing is simply moving ahead without them. The umbrellas and chairs are the same Boucher Brothers beach gear the city deal covers, so seeing them staged on the sand suggests that things are moving ahead even as the contract stalls.
Miami Beach is just the latest piece of Vice City to move from plans to reality and this is in Miami alone. The signed-contract question is still open and the official start date is murky, but the gear is on the beach and the planes are in the air. If the worker is right, the umbrellas go up this weekend, weeks before GTA 6 launches on November 19. Either way, the real South Beach is starting to look like the fake one.
In the meantime, the rest of Miami's larger transformation continues. Downtown, the City of Miami cleared temporary GTA 6 banners in a defined event area from October 15. On the private side, the Kaseya Center's "Welcome to Vice City" rooftop sign is already installed and lit and the Miami Heat will become "Vice City" for a night against the Bucks on November 18.
Wynwood Walls is running an official partnership with free local museum admission, GTA 6 murals and an "Art of Vice City" merch line. The one track still in doubt is the county's, where Miami-Dade commissioners are pushing back on turning the airport, PortMiami and Metromover into Vice City, with a vote due on October 20.