Miami-Dade opposition to GTA 6 turned public on Thursday when Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez and Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz pushed back against a reported Miami-Dade County partnership with Rockstar Games. The dispute centers on whether public resources and county facilities should be tied to a launch plan for Grand Theft Auto VI.
“I still cannot believe that we are even considering temporarily rebranding important County assets, including Miami International Airport, as ‘Vice City Airport,’” Bermudez said in a Thursday press release. He also said Miami-Dade County has spent decades building a reputation as a world-class destination for tourism, business, investment, and opportunity, and added, “Miami-Dade County is not a video game; it’s a community.”
Vice City Airport and Metro Mover
The reported promotion went beyond Miami International Airport. Reports said the pitch would also wrap an aircraft in Vice City branding, cover the Metro Mover in Vice City branding, and place the game’s logo on manhole covers across the county.
That list shows how far the proposal would have reached into county property if the Office of the Mayor moved ahead. For residents and travelers, the issue is not a marketing slogan but the use of public-facing assets that sit inside daily life.
Rosie Cordero-Stutz Draws A Line
“Grand Theft Auto is a video game franchise built around criminal activity. Its fictional world includes murder, robbery, drug trafficking, carjacking, violence against law enforcement, and other conduct that the men and women of the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office work every single day to prevent,” Cordero-Stutz said in a Thursday press release. She later added that at a time when law enforcement is trying to reduce violent crime, prevent robberies and car thefts, combat drug trafficking, and build stronger relationships with communities, the county should think hard about the message it sends.
Bermudez also told WSVN, “For just some dollars? No, I don’t agree. I think our goal is to be paradise and not to be paradise lost,” and added, “I’m not against video games, but to go out and get a video game where – which glorifies not only our first responders getting shot, but also pedestrians and residents – it’s nonsensical.” That is the core political problem here: the mayor’s office framed the proposal as a revenue opportunity, while the commissioner and sheriff said it would send the wrong message by promoting a fictional crime-centered identity.
Revenue, Costs, Public Benefit
Thursday afternoon, the Office of the Mayor said Miami-Dade’s influence on the game could create a unique opportunity to generate revenue for the county while showcasing Miami-Dade to a massive audience. Bermudez said he was not privy to any information when asked about potential revenue, and he called for full transparency on any discussions with Rockstar Games.
He also urged the administration to disclose the public benefit, costs, and use of county resources tied to any proposed deal. That leaves the county with a narrow practical test: if there is no clear accounting of what the partnership would pay, what it would cost, and which public assets it would touch, the pitch reads more like branding risk than a business case.
