When Minneapolis podcaster Ben Hanson booted up an obscure 30-year-old video game for a charity livestream, he hoped to raise a few thousand dollars to support at-risk families amid the surge of federal immigration agents in Minnesota.

In less than an hour of goofing off with his friends chatting while playing the PlayStation game “Perfect Weapon” on Jan. 30, they had more than doubled their original $50,000 fundraising goal.

“We just hit $100,000,” said a stunned Hanson, who cofounded the local video game media outlet MinnMax, as they played the 1996 game about a martial arts expert marooned on an ice-covered alien planet.

By the end of the eight-hour stream, the total shot up to more than $250,000, sent in by more than 3,000 people opposed to the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge. It continued to grow to over $280,000 after the stream concluded.

It would become a record donation for VEAP, a local nonprofit and food pantry with a client base that’s about 50% Hispanic, and has already been a major help for families in need, according to Jennifer Harrison, the vice president of advancement for VEAP. She estimated that between 140 and 150 families were able to receive rent assistance because of the stream.

While many have donated directly, Harrison said this was the largest amount the organization has ever received from someone using their platform to fundraise.

“People wanted to help, but they really sort of brought the fun,” Harrison said.

Hanson, who regularly streams and hosts podcasts about video games from his Minneapolis basement, felt compelled to hold a fund drive after seeing the chaos in the state and the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents.

Hanson and his wife reached out to VEAP, which agreed to partner on the livestream. As the end of January approached, VEAP was most in need of rent assistance for families that have been afraid to leave their homes for work during the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) surge.

Hanson invited fellow veteran games media personalities over to his basement, attached some “ICE Out of Minneapolis” signs to the wall behind his streaming setup, and started goofing off as he normally would for the internet’s amusement.

Joining Hanson were Jacob Geller, a popular video essayist, and Jeff Grubb and Dan Ryckert from the video game website Giant Bomb.

“We needed to acknowledge what’s happening to our neighbors right outside of our windows,” Hanson said in an interview. “It feels disingenuous to not be honest and talk about that.”

The stream featured the four playing a variety of games, starting off with “Perfect Weapon” — chosen for its reputation as a particularly bad game.

Given how frustrating the game is, and the fact that it starts in an ice-covered planet, Ryckert remarked that it’s “thematically very appropriate” and parallels the situation with ICE in Minnesota.

The gamers then pivoted to multiplayer games like “Lego Party” and “Astro Duel 2.”

Whereas some companies and large video game news outlets avoided making public statements on the ICE presence out of fear of backlash, Hanson said he couldn’t stay silent.

“It’s so strange to hear companies being scared of making political statements like, ‘Hey, certain ethnicities within Minnesota are not human garbage,’ ” Hanson said, referencing President Donald Trump’s remark disparaging Minnesota’s Somali population.

As they played, the streamers offered various prizes for those who donate certain amounts, such as $400 to make one of the gamers dress up in flame hats and shirts.

Ryckert said he was floored by the response from viewers and the donations, among the largest of which was $25,000 from an anonymous donor.

Grubb said fundraising over a livestream is much more productive than going onto an uncle’s Facebook page and arguing about ICE operations.

“This is better than that,” Grubb said. “So let’s do something actually productive, and let’s be the helpers.”

louis.krauss@startribune.com