Rockstar is quietly transforming the real Miami into GTA 6’s Vice City

Rockstar is quietly transforming the real-life city of Miami into GTA 6’s Vice City to promote the game, with the opening of in-game restaurant chains, advertisements for Weazel News, sports cars, and more.

The GTA 6 developer first signaled its intent to collaborate with the city of Miami – which the game’s fictional Vice City is based on – earlier this month.

As part of Rockstar’s announced promotion, NBA team Miami Heat is set to rebrand as ‘Vice City’ as part of an event dubbed “A Night In Vice City,” which will take place on the eve of GTA 6’s launch on November 18, when the Heat will take the court as “Vice City”.

However, social media users have since discovered that Rockstar’s meta-marketing in Miami extends far beyond just the Miami Heat team.

Inside the Kaseya Center, which is the arena where the Miami Heat play, visitors have spotted GTA’s in-universe fast food restaurants, Burger Shot and Cluckin’ Bell, having quietly opened inside.

The Burger Shot restaurant is reportedly a rebranded branch of burger chain Skinny Louie’s, with staff wearing new GTA 6-branded uniforms.

As part of the Miami Heat event, the team will play on a specially constructed “Vice City Court” and appear in a reimagined uniform. Special Vice City merchandise is also being sold at the Kaseya Center.

Beyond Miami Heat, dozens of GTA 6 marketing promotions have been spotted around Miami so far, including a blimp, murals, Vice City branding on buses and taxis, and even in-universe marketing running on digital displays around the city.

The advertisements seen so far include spots for fictional TV station Weazel News, radio station Chamber 106.6, tech company Fruit, car company Coil, eCola, Y Hotel, Vault Nightclub, Big Chug, and more.

Next, Miami Beach has been overtaken by pink and blue Vice City-branded umbrellas and loungers, with security staff reportedly assigned to make sure fans don’t make off with the valuable merchandise at night.

A GTA 6-branded blimp was also flown across the beach, in addition to digital billboards attached to boats, promoting the fictional in-game venue, Vault Nightclub.

Notably, custom sports cars with Vice City number plates have been spotted driving around the city. A real-life ‘Coquette’ (based on Chevrolet Corvette) has been seen driving with a Vice City wrap, alongside a Lamborghini wrapped in Vice Beach Police livery.

Finally, Rockstar looks set to flood Miami with real-life versions of GTA 6’s fictional alcohol. Advertisements for Pißwasser and Patriot have been spotted outside bars in Miami, and a filing suggests they’ll soon sell the fictional beers.

It was recently discovered that labels for Pißwasser, Patriot, and a new Vice City-themed lager have been submitted by Florida-based Tripping Animals Brewing, suggesting that Rockstar intends to make real-life versions.

Rockstar’s next open-world crime game is set across an entire fictionalized version of Florida, called Leonida, where the series is returning for the first time since 2006’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.

Grand Theft Auto 6 will be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 19, and will be the studio’s first major new single-player release since Red Dead Redemption 2, which arrived on PS4 and Xbox One in 2018.

New details on GTA 6 were recently revealed in an issue of Game Informer, including claims that the game’s map is twice the size of GTA 5’s, and that it will feature advanced weather systems like tropical storms and hurricanes.

According to Rockstar, Grand Theft Auto VI will feature a more dynamic and localized weather system in Leonida, allowing different areas of the map to experience dramatically different conditions at the same time.

Leonida will be divided into six main regions: Vice City, the Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia, and Mount Kalaga National Park, each offering a distinct setting inspired by different parts of Florida.