GTA VI Is Taking Over Miami: Every Vice City Promo Sighting So Far (Running List)

Miami is slowly turning into Vice City ahead of GTA VI's Nov 19 launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. This is our running list, newest first. We only include sightings that established outlets have reported, and we say clearly which ones Rockstar has confirmed. We'll keep updating it.

W South Beach becomes the "Y Hotel," plus a pink Vice Beach sign (city filings, Oct 22–23)

From Miami Beach city documents, not a Rockstar announcement. Beebom, citing Miami Beach city documents first reported by GTA Vice, says Rockstar has a $650,000 agreement, made through Amplify Marketing Inc., with the owner of the W South Beach (2201 Collins Ave) to dress it up as Vice City's "Y Hotel." The breakdown is $300,000 for facade signage, $150,000 for a "Y" logo replacing the "W" emblem on the spa terrace, and $200,000 for a beachfront activation. Per the filings, the hotel promo runs Oct 15 to Dec 31, 2026.

The same report says a large pink Vice Beach sign at Lummus Park (1130 Ocean Drive) is set to start construction Oct 26 and be unveiled Nov 1, and Muscle Beach workout equipment is to be painted pink with Vice Beach branding. This is a separate figure from the $300,000-to-the-city package Gameranx reported earlier (see below). Rockstar hasn't commented.

Burger Shot and Cluckin' Bell at the Kaseya Center (Oct 21–22)

Real Burger Shot and Cluckin' Bell stands opened at the Heat's arena. Burger Shot is a rebranded Skinny Louie's, with combos from $28.50 to $31 before tax (GameSpot). GameSpot also reports elevator ads inside the arena for Vice City FM, The Vault and Macca & Friends. Update (Oct 24): GameSpot reports Rockstar and Skinny Louie have announced that every Skinny Louie in Florida becomes a Burger Shot from early November through Dec 31. Full story: Burger Shot and Cluckin' Bell in Miami.

VGC's roundup calls it Rockstar "quietly transforming the real Miami" into Vice City, and notes that Vice City merchandise is on sale at the arena.

Parody-brand kiosk ads and billboards (Oct 19–20)

Digital street kiosks in Miami are rotating ads for brands that only exist in GTA. Insider Gaming, working from photos by Joel Franco, lists a Weazel News van and kiosk ads for the Vice City Manatees, Pfister ("Go Topless"), Kowalski and Kronos, each with the series' usual double-entendre taglines. No Rockstar logo is visible, and Rockstar hasn't commented.

The Vault nightclub, on a boat (Oct 20)

TechWiser reports an electronic billboard on a boat in Miami advertising The Vault, an in-game Vice City nightclub, with the line "Your secrets are safe with us." TechWiser says VYB, another in-game club, is on Wynwood screens. Theories that The Vault is a story hub are fan speculation. Rockstar hasn't said.

A longer launch trailer on NBC (Oct 20)

RockstarINTEL reports that a different cut of the Oct 15 launch trailer aired during NBC's 76ers-Knicks broadcast. Per RockstarINTEL, it has slightly longer shots (Raul Bautista dancing, Lucia on a plane's landing gear, Jason going for a knife in a chokehold) and drops the shower kiss and the ankle-monitor shot. A shorter 60-second spot is also circulating. Rockstar hasn't announced a TV campaign.

Rumor debunked: no live-action trailer (Oct 20–21)

Rumor, now largely explained. Clips of supercars and camera crews on Ocean Drive and around downtown had fans saying Rockstar was filming a live-action trailer (IGN Middle East, GTA BOOM). RockstarINTEL checked the city's filming permits. Rockstar isn't on them, but 305 Films is, for "Social media for MH Vice," most likely the Miami Heat's Vice City night. That points to a Heat promo, not a Rockstar trailer. Rockstar hasn't commented. Every official GTA VI trailer so far has used in-game footage (GTA BOOM).

Miami Beach "Vice Beach" deal: documents reported (Oct 21)

Reported, not finalized. Gameranx reports on a document outlining a "Vice Beach" package: a Lummus Park sign, branding on Muscle Beach equipment, a VI-branded lifeguard tower, a 10-foot VI sculpture and the W Hotel's sign changed to "Y Hotel." Rockstar would pay the city $300,000 and Boucher Brothers $4 million. Gameranx says no permits had been approved as of Oct 15 and the plans could be dropped without approval by Nov 1. We haven't seen the document, and neither Rockstar nor the city has announced it.

Wrapped cars with Leonida plates (Oct 15–16)

Not officially confirmed. Real cars dressed as GTA VI vehicles were filmed driving through Miami in a convoy, carrying Leonida license plates.

• Insider Gaming, working from fan photos, identifies a Coquette (GTA's Corvette stand-in) in a Vice City wrap next to a Lamborghini in Vice Beach Police livery.
• IGN reports a McLaren styled as the Progen Emerus, plus cars styled as the Cheetah, Coquette D10, Tempesta and Manana.
• Push Square says several of the cars wear Vice Beach Police Department markings.

Rockstar hasn't announced the convoy or said it paid for the cars, and we found no Rockstar post about them. Outlets treat it as Rockstar marketing because of the in-game liveries and plates, but that part is an inference.

Blimp and banner planes (from Oct 15)

Push Square reports Instagram clips of Vice City branding being installed, a blimp with the logo and planes towing promotional banners, and notes that none of them name GTA 6 directly. For the Goodyear blimp in Vice City livery, see our Vice City blimp brief.

Wynwood murals and free admission

Rockstar is funding free Wynwood Walls admission for Miami-Dade residents through 2028, alongside 10 GTA VI-themed murals. Details and sign-up info: our Wynwood Walls story.

Miami Heat: "A Night in Vice City" (Nov 18)

Confirmed by the Heat. GameSpot reports the Heat will play as Vice City against the Milwaukee Bucks on Nov 18, the night before launch, in a new uniform on a GTA VI-inspired court, airing on ESPN. The Heat also sell a "Vice City Collection" of merch. The Kaseya Center already has a "Vice City" sign on the roof, which the Miami Herald says came under a $975,000 county agreement with Rockstar.

Hard Rock Stadium (Oct 11)

CBS Miami reported an "I love Vice City" sign with the game's cover art and the GTA VI logo by the jumbotron at the Dolphins game. More in our stadium story.

Beach chairs and downtown banners (Oct 15 to Dec 31)

Miami commissioners approved banner permits for part of downtown, allowed only between Oct 15 and Dec 31 (NBC 6). TweakTown reports a 4-3 vote approving discreet "Vice City" and "VI" branding on Boucher Brothers beach chairs and umbrellas for the same window.

The pushback

Not everyone is on board. GameSpot, citing the Miami Herald, reports that several Miami-Dade commissioners objected to taking Rockstar's money. "We're depicting Miami like a murder capital," Commissioner René Garcia said. Mayor Daniella Levine Cava wants bigger deals, including possible installations at Miami International Airport, PortMiami and on transit. After a debate, commissioners voted to have any GTA deal over $1 million brought back to them (Miami Herald). Radio Times (Oct 22) also quotes the September statement from Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz and Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez: "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."

Back in September, Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez and Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz publicly opposed a reported "Vice City Airport" rebrand in a county press release, which ended: "Miami-Dade County is not Vice City."

Fortune adds that, according to records The Miamian obtained, county officials pitched Rockstar on June 29. The ideas included a "Vice City Airport" arrival experience, wrapped Metromover cars, a PortMiami mural and custom manhole covers. After commissioners led by René Garcia objected on Oct 6, Fortune says Commissioner Oliver Gilbert used a procedural move to push the vote to Oct 20. We haven't confirmed the outcome of that meeting yet.

Not on this list (yet)

• GTA beer labels: Dexerto reports that US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) records show approved labels from Doral's Tripping Animals Brewing for Pißwasser, Patriot and a "No Mames Vice City" lager with GTA VI branding. Neither Rockstar nor the brewery has announced a collaboration, and there's no release date or price.
• Metrorail pillars: fan photos show pillars under the elevated track being wrapped in GTA VI colors. We haven't seen an established outlet confirm it. The Miami Herald reported the mayor wanted transit branding, but no county deal over $1 million has been approved.
• Radio station street-kiosk ads (V-Rock and others): fan sites still have the only reports of V-Rock on Miami street kiosks. Vice City FM is now confirmed in ads inside the Kaseya Center (GameSpot, see above).

• An "I ❤️ Vice City" tour bus near the Kaseya Center: we've only seen it in fan posts and fan sites, so we haven't confirmed it.
• "Hollywood mural": the GTA VI mural reported this week is on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, not Hollywood, Florida, and we've only seen it on fan sites so far.