Two free new maps for Gears of War will be available on Wednesday, January 10th, from the XBOX Live Marketplace.  There will also be a new video available.  This new content is sponsored by the Discovery Channel.  No word on whether there will be any Discovery Channel branding on the maps.

A patch for Gears of War is also coming out before the maps are rolled out.  The patch should be available tomorrow (Tuesday). Here is what the patch is supposed to change:

* Fixed aspect ratio distortion when using VGA cable with 4:3 displays at resolutions higher than 640x480
* Fixed voice issue with new players joining Player Match games in progress
* Players can now get the Achievement for "Dish Best Served Cold" when using Troika turret to kill RAAM
* Fixed rare situation where host could loop countdown and never start match
* Fixed rare situation where players could get stuck after chainsawing in multiplayer
* Reduced Grenade Tag melee distance
* Enabled "Strict" NAT check on host to prevent possible connection issues
* Optimized server browser queries to return results more quickly and prevent scroll bars from hiding quality of service icons
* Reduced number of possible revives in Execution to match Warzone
* Removed host name from Ranked match server browser
* Disabled security cameras in Ranked matches
* Ranked matches now require balanced teams (3v3 or 4v4)
* Increased penalty for quitting a Ranked match to -50 points
* Added additional cheat detection code
* Additional housekeeping updates

The two new maps are called Raven Down and Old Bones.

• Raven Down: "A Raven Helicopter has gone down in the middle of a large scale battle with the omnipresent Locust Horde. Gears have taken out the Seeder and gamers join Delta Forces moving into the crash site from all angles to search for survivors."
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Old Bones: "In an attempt to eradicate any traces of human history and culture, the Locust Horde has emerged under Sera's Capitaline Museums and has begun to destroy them brick by brick. Each gamer's mission is to help the Delta Force recapture the museums before all remnants of humankind's existence are obliterated."
  
  
  
  

Epic employees confirmed this news on their forums. XBOXZONE.com.au broke the news on their forums. Additional commentary from 1up.com.

I think it’s great to see new maps already – especially free maps.  I think that is a heck of  a deal to provide those new maps about two months after release.  This will definitely keep the gameplay fresh.

Perhaps Epic did fix some bugs and glitches with their next software update and the maps are a way to encourage old and new players to get into Gears of War and check out the changes.

XBOX 360 owners will be required to accept the new patch while the maps will remain an optional download. The new patch and map may affect competitve Gears of War players in their online leages and tournaments. Will the new maps be a part of the stardard tournament rotations? Will the new patch affect gameplay so much that league rules will need to be changed?