diff --git a/version.go b/version.go
index a88bf87d230..30ea7eb2e94 100644
--- a/version.go
+++ b/version.go
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import (
 var CurrentCommit string
 
 // CurrentVersionNumber is the current application's version literal.
-const CurrentVersionNumber = "0.28.0-dev"
+const CurrentVersionNumber = "0.28.0-rc1"
 
 const ApiVersion = "/kubo/" + CurrentVersionNumber + "/" //nolint