Out in the Cold is the second mission in the Modern Warfare 4 campaign, and it is where Captain John Price finally gets a hand on Vladimir Makarov. It runs about 13 minutes of gameplay after a long opening cutscene. It starts as a quiet tail job in a Manhattan nightclub, turns into a pistol-and-SMG firefight, and finishes with a bare-knuckle brawl in the snow. Price wins that fight and still loses the mission.
Quick answer: Out in the Cold is mission 2, set in New York five days before the invasion. You play as Price, chase Milena and Makarov, and the mission ends with Konni operatives capturing Price.
Out in the Cold mission details
| Detail | Out in the Cold |
|---|---|
| Campaign slot | Mission 2 |
| Location | New York City, USA |
| Playable character | John Price |
| Timeline | 5 Days Ago (5 days before invasion) |
| Objectives | Follow Milena, Locate Makarov, Kill Makarov |
| Weapons picked up | Krait .9mm, VEL 46 |
| Main enemies | Club bouncers, Konni guards, Makarov |
Early access for the campaign began October 16th, 2026; the complete game is scheduled to launch on October 23rd, 2026. Out in the Cold can only be played solo.
Laswell’s briefing and the New York setup
Before any shooting, the mission spends several minutes on spycraft. A “5 DAYS BEFORE INVASION” card opens on a subway platform, where Price steps off a train and walks the streets with CIA officer Kate Laswell talking in his ear. He collects an envelope and a device from a secure postal box, then sets up in a hidden workshop with a rugged laptop.
During a video call, Laswell explains what is at stake: US troops are pulling out, while the Ultranationalists are working with Makarov through financier Milena Romanova. She brings Price back as an unofficial asset. That night, Price sees a black car leave Milena at NOX, a club, then photographs its entrance from the opposite side of the street.
Club NOX and the melee combat system
Inside NOX, the mission title card appears over the dance floor, and Price spots Milena and her armed escorts heading toward the VIP section. Your first objective is simply “Follow Milena.” Price has no gun yet, so this stretch doubles as the campaign’s hand-to-hand tutorial.
Bouncers block the red-lit VIP stairway, and the game introduces its melee prompts one at a time as you fight up the stairs and through the upper corridors:
- ATTACK throws a standard punch.
- HOLD TO BLOCK raises Price’s guard.
- BLOCK JUST BEFORE BEING HIT TO PARRY turns a well-timed block into a parry.
- COUNTER ATTACK follows a successful parry.
- E TAKEDOWN finishes an enemy with a contextual move.
The same parry system returns at the end of the mission, so the club fights are effectively practice for the Makarov encounter. More security waits in the corridors past the stairs.
In the upper lounge, a short cutscene shows Makarov stepping into an elevator with a satchel and locking eyes with Price. Price then clears a private bar of bouncers before reaching the elevator.
Floor 3 firefight with the Krait .9mm and VEL 46
Price forces the elevator doors open, kills the two guards inside, and takes a suppressed Krait .9mm pistol. From here the mission is a standard Call of Duty gunfight. The elevator panel lists floors including UMBRA, ECLIPSE, NOVA and LOBBY, and Price rides to the third floor of NOX.
The top floor is a VIP lounge packed with armed Konni guards, dressed with digital pillars projecting cherry blossoms. The fight moves into a room wrapped in forest screens and then into back-of-house corridors, where Price picks up a VEL 46 submachine gun.
The section ends in a commercial kitchen, with Konni guards using stainless steel counters as cover. That room is tied to a reported trophy called Safety’s On.
| Trophy | Tier | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Safety’s On | Gold | Kill every kitchen enemy without firing your gun |
Safety’s On only counts on Hardened difficulty or higher. It comes from a datamined PlayStation trophy list and has not been confirmed by Activision.
Milena Romanova interrogation
Past the kitchen, Price kicks in an office door and disarms Milena. He demands to know where Makarov is. She insists she only tracks money, refuses to help, and Price knocks her out. The scene closes the “Follow Milena” part of the mission and turns the objective toward Makarov himself.
The Makarov chase from rooftops to Times Square
Price exits through maintenance corridors into a snowy industrial alley and trades fire with Konni guards around fire escapes and walkways. On a rooftop ladder platform, a guard grabs him, and a timed parry lets Price throw the man off the edge. At the top, a helicopter aborts its landing and Makarov runs.
What follows is a scripted foot chase built for spectacle. Makarov crosses snowy rooftops, fire escapes and a residential hallway, then climbs construction framing while Price clambers across the neon lettering of the Hotel Times West sign. Makarov grabs an extraction helicopter, and Price leaps from a crane arm to catch him. Both crash down through building canopies.
The chase continues by way of a bus before reaching street level. Price races after Makarov amid winter traffic in Times Square, then follows him into a service alley that ends at a dead end.
Makarov boss fight and the Konni ending
In the alley, Makarov drops his bag, draws a combat knife and fights. The encounter uses the same melee system from the club. You parry his knife slashes and punches, counter, and hit takedown prompts. The fight ends with Price tackling Makarov, taking the knife, and beating his face into the bloody snow.
Despite the “Kill Makarov” objective, Makarov is not killed. Konni operatives fill the alley with rifles raised, and Price surrenders beside Makarov’s body. The mission ends with Price as a prisoner.
The final cutscene sets the campaign’s next phase in motion. Hooded, Price is escorted into a high-rise office, where cartel leader Valeria Garza awaits. She needs to get a case to Makarov’s superior, known as the Archer, and gives Price a way to reach his target. On the balcony, Price answers Laswell’s call and says he will pursue the target on his own.
Where Out in the Cold fits in the Price storyline
Out in the Cold opens a countdown of Price missions leading up to the invasion. The Valeria deal it sets up carries straight into the missions that follow.
| Mission | Timeline | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Out in the Cold (mission 2) | 5 days before invasion | New York City |
| Hired Gun (mission 4) | 4 days before invasion | Railyard en route to Paris |
| Gone Dark | 2 days before invasion | Mumbai |
In Hired Gun, Price is already riding a train with Valeria while Shadow Company commander Phillip Graves hunts the package. By Gone Dark, the handoff to the Archer goes badly for everyone. That path starts in the alley behind Times Square, where Price gets Makarov on the ground and Konni operatives take Price before he can finish the job.
