SOUTH BEND, IN — A new MrBeast video puts 100 Indiana State Police troopers in pursuit of the YouTube creator and four of his friends across a large, pre-built city in a high-stakes hide-and-seek challenge. The group starts with $500,000 on the line, and the goal is to avoid capture long enough to keep the money. The video shows troopers tracking the contestants through a city built for the game, using police vehicles, hidden positions and coordinated searches. MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, posted the video after filming at the Indiana State Police training center in late July.
The project is described as one of his most ambitious productions, and the state police say all officers involved were on duty at the time and compensated for the work. Participation by troopers was voluntary. The video quickly drew major attention after its release on MrBeast’s channel, where he has become known for large-scale stunts that often feature money prizes, elaborate sets and dozens of participants.
How the Indiana State Police challenge was set up inside the fake city
The video opens with Donaldson and his company entering a mock city designed for the contest. As the search begins, the five-person group flees through streets, tunnels and other hiding spots while state police fan out to locate them. The setup includes a safe room, sewer-like passages and a false subway system, all meant to help the contestants disappear from view. The Indiana State Police said the manhunt format was built around the idea of giving officers a chance to play the pursuers in a controlled setting.
According to the police, the challenge was filmed with a drone and a camera crew, and some footage came from body cameras worn by officers. In the video, the contest narrows down to whether the group can stay hidden long enough to hold onto the prize money. The video also shows the tactical, game-style nature of the event, with officers moving through the set much like they would during a large search operation, though this was created for entertainment rather than law enforcement work.
What the video says about the troopers and the money on the line
Indiana State Police said the officers who appeared in the project were off from regular patrol duties for the shoot, and the agency said the equipment used by troopers was already available to them. The department also noted that the men and women who took part did so voluntarily. The crew paid for the use of police resources, and the agency said the arrangement was handled as a production rather than a real emergency response.
The prize structure is what gives the video its tension. Each member of the five-person team carried a backpack containing $100,000, meaning the total amount at stake was $500,000. If the contestants made it through the full time limit without being captured, that money would go to them. If Indiana State Police found them, the cash would be lost. The challenge is similar in style to other MrBeast videos built around timed escapes, large group competitions and oversized rewards.
MrBeast’s reach and the Indiana setting that helped sell the stunt
MrBeast is among the most popular creators on YouTube, with more than 411 million subscribers, and he also runs a large following on TikTok under the same name. His videos regularly attract tens of millions of views in the first days after release, and this one was no exception. The Indiana State Police shared a link to the finished video and posted a behind-the-scenes group photo from the shoot on social media shortly after it went live.
The setting also matters because the challenge was filmed at the Indiana State Police training center in southeast Indiana, where overlaid maps and buildings helped create the illusion of a real city. That made the shoot look bigger and more elaborate than a standard commercial production. For the police, the video offered an unusual chance to participate in a entertainment project that put their training, vehicles and officers at the center of a widely watched online competition.
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