GTA 6 is about to be the biggest game of the year. It will likely be the biggest game of the decade. It might just be the biggest game of all time. There will be untold advantages for everyone and everything involved when it’s all said and done, and that might include its setting.
Grand Theft Auto VI is set in Miami, Florida. It stands to reason that there will be a boost to tourism and other general life in Miami. Yet, Miami-Dade County Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz and Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez believe there could be issues and don’t want to promote the game.
Miami Sheriff, Commissioner Don’t Want to Advertise GTA 6
One could view a big game being set in your city as a good thing, but GTA 6 being set in Miami isn’t exactly thrilling to Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz and Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez. In fact, they believe it could be harmful to the area.
“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, per NBC Miami 6.
She continued, “At a time when law enforcement is working every day to reduce violent crime, prevent robberies and car thefts, combat drug trafficking, and build stronger relationships between our deputies and the communities we serve, I believe we need to seriously consider the message we send when our own government promotes a fictional identity centered around many of those same crimes.”
According to Bermudez, the county is considering rebranding some things to fit with the game, including the name of Miami International Airport, which is portrayed as “Vice City Airport” in the game. It’s something Bermudez “still cannot believe” is even up for consideration.
“Miami-Dade County has spent decades building a reputation as a world-class destination for tourism, business, investment, and opportunity. 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,” he said.
How Will It Play Out in Miami?
It remains unclear how intertwined the real version of Miami will be with the GTA 6 version. Obviously, they’re considering making some big changes to advertise and promote the game, but there is also clear pushback from city officials.
Given her role in law enforcement, it is completely unsurprising that Sheriff Cordero-Stutz is not down with promoting GTA 6. While the game still awaits its release, all of the promotion (and the history of the series) has made it clear that the protagonists are criminals, and the main antagonists are law enforcement.
This is very much how Rockstar operates. The Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption series both focus on criminals, and much of the gameplay in both involves committing crimes. However, it’s important to remember that it’s all fictional, and that science suggests that video games have no effect on real-life crime, even when players are committing fictional crimes.
Still, it’s understandable that someone in law enforcement would be disgruntled by that. It’s also understandable that a local commissioner wouldn’t be on board with rebranding because it does nothing for the city, adds a ton of work to do, and costs money that may or may not be recouped. Rebranding the airport would be cool, but it’s a huge hassle for a commissioner to work through.
Nevertheless, it is a consideration, speaking to how massive GTA 6 is and how impactful it could be, despite the sheriff and commissioner’s considerations, for the city of Miami and the surrounding area.
