GTA 6's Vice City campaign at Miami's airport is in jeopardy
Several Miami-Dade commissioners want to stop GTA VI promotion at the airport, PortMiami and Metromover stations. What is being debated, who objects and when it is voted.
GTA VI's big Miami campaign has run into local politics. According to a report published on October 13, 2026 by The Miamian, Rockstar's plan to dress Miami-Dade County facilities as Vice City, including Miami International Airport, PortMiami and Metromover stations, is in "serious jeopardy" because several county commissioners don't want to promote the game.
What's on the table and who objects
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava's office has spent weeks negotiating a temporary promotion in those public spaces with Rockstar, in exchange for a payment to the county. Lined up against it are, among others:
- Rene Garcia, who is leading the opposition: he calls it "uncomfortable" to work with a game that, in his view, paints Miami as a crime haven and a "murder capital." The deal under negotiation with the county is worth more than $1 million.
- Danielle Cohen Higgins, who points to county rules banning advertising that promotes violence, prostitution or pornography.
A vote that would have ended negotiations was postponed, and a decision is now expected at the October 20 meeting.
Miami Beach said yes
It's a different story in Miami Beach, where the city commission approved its own promotional deal on September 10 by a 4-3 vote, after a heated debate about the game's violence. Even so, the Miami Beach campaign, due to start on October 15, still hadn't been signed days before, and city sources expected it to slip while details were finalized.
Not the first time Miami and GTA have clashed
There's history here. In 2003, Haitian-American groups in Miami protested against GTA Vice City, and Rockstar ended up removing the offending lines from later versions of the game. Two decades on, the argument is the same: is Vice City satire, or bad publicity for the city it portrays?
What it means for launch
For players, very little: GTA VI still launches on November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. What's at stake is the most eye-catching part of the campaign in Miami itself, which already includes the Heat playing as "Vice City", the Goodyear blimp and deals with private partners. If the county pulls out, Rockstar loses showcases like the airport, but hardly the attention: few things promote a GTA game better than a controversy.
