diff --git a/lib/protobuf/version.rb b/lib/protobuf/version.rb
index 5ab89636..0fd896c1 100644
--- a/lib/protobuf/version.rb
+++ b/lib/protobuf/version.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 module Protobuf
-  VERSION = '2.7.10'
+  VERSION = '2.8.0.beta1'
   PROTOC_VERSION = '2.4.1'
 end