Expect some heavy traffic on Xbox Live this Wednesday thanks to availability of two new multiplayer maps for Gears of War. Both maps will be downloadable for free through Xbox Live Marketplace on January 10 at 10AM PST. The two maps are named Raven Down and Old Bones. Raven Down features a crashed Raven helicopter in the middle of a war-ravaged city and Old Bones tasks the humans with recapturing crumbling museums from the Locust Horde.

Gears of War has been a huge success for Microsoft, the game has sold more than 2 million units since its release and has boosted the number of Xbox Live subscribers significantly. These free maps are sure to make the game even more popular among gamers. Last year Epic had promised that additional downloadable content for GoW would be free and now it has delivered. Certain other companies have charged players for additional downloadable content. Hopefully this is just the beginning of an ongoing flow of downloadable goodies for GoW.