diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index e5321e45e4e528..9869f57c3fb3e6 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
 VERSION = 6
-PATCHLEVEL = 7
+PATCHLEVEL = 8
 SUBLEVEL = 0
-EXTRAVERSION =
+EXTRAVERSION = -rc1
 NAME = Hurr durr I'ma ninja sloth
 
 # *DOCUMENTATION*