One date in Miami's Grand Theft Auto VI rollout looks shakier than the rest because the Vice City branding planned for Miami Beach's chairs and umbrellas may not start on October 15 after all. Reporter Joel Franco says a Miami Beach official told him the city has not signed its marketing agreement yet, so the October 15 date is "most likely not" the real start date, contrary to what most of us believe.
The good news? This only applies to Miami Beach. The rest of the GTA 6 marketing campaign in Miami is on track.
What happened here is that, back in September, the Miami Beach commission voted to enter negotiations with Amplify Marketing Inc. over the Rockstar Games campaign, worth up to $4 million to the city. This vote paved way for the talks but it didn't execute a deal. Franco reports the details are still being worked out, which is why a date written into a September resolution does not guarantee a mid-October launch.
Franco was clear about the limits of his own report. This is about Miami Beach alone. The City of Miami's downtown banners run on a separate ordinance that sets an event window starting no earlier than October 15. They do not depend on the Amplify deal. The private pieces are untouched too. The Kaseya Center "Welcome to Vice City" sign is up and the Heat's "A Night in Vice City" game is set for November 18. The issue with Miami-Dade is a separate matter with its own timeline, a commission vote on October 20 that could end the county's piece. Franco even pointed to one sign the wider push is fine, being that the Vice City airship flying south shows marketing elsewhere is moving as planned.
So nothing here changes the game or the shape of the campaign. Miami Beach still intends to do the deal, the two sides are still negotiating and the start date slides until the contract is signed. If Miami Beach confirms a new date, we will update.
