In addition the upcoming Snowblind Map Pack (pictured), Gears of War 2 is getting a new leveling system for its multiplayer games, which should address some complaints about the current matching system. According to Gamespot:

Under the new system, players will earn experience points for scoring in public matches, advancing all the way to level 100. Upon attaining certain levels, they will be rewarded with the following Xbox achievements: Rookie Gear (level 5), Seasoned Gear (level 15), Battle-Tested Gear (level 25), Battle-Hardened Gear (level 50), and Veteran Gear (level 100). (The last two achievements will also require that players download and achieve feats in the Snowblind Map Pack.) Four other unnamed achievements will be added as part of the update, with a total of 250 GamerScore points.

The new system goes into effect on March 24th, so until then, you're just spinning your wheels when you play. Think of the experience you could be earning if you only waited until March 24th! At least, that's how my mind works when I hear news like this.

In the ensuing Q&A on Gamespot, Gears of War producer Rod Fergusson notes that the game is getting special treatment.

Normally, the only way Microsoft allows a company to add new achievements is to tie them to new downloadable content. So we were actually really lucky in that we were able to talk to the Microsoft Game Studios team and explain to them that this was a fundamental change to the game.

I can imagine how that "talk" between Gears developer Epic and Microsoft Game Studios went. Given how many copies of the Xbox-exclusive Gears of War games have been sold, I don't imagine it was a very long conversation.