diff --git a/lib/rspec/version.rb b/lib/rspec/version.rb
index d40ba03ad..4c29fc735 100644
--- a/lib/rspec/version.rb
+++ b/lib/rspec/version.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 module RSpec # :nodoc:
   module Version # :nodoc:
-    STRING = '2.8.0'
+    STRING = '2.9.0.rc1'
   end
 end