diff --git a/IPython/core/release.py b/IPython/core/release.py
index 87f5e58..0876d2d 100644
--- a/IPython/core/release.py
+++ b/IPython/core/release.py
@@ -19,8 +19,8 @@ _version_major = 8
 _version_minor = 0
 _version_patch = 0
 _version_extra = ".dev"
-# _version_extra = "b1"
-# # _version_extra = ""  # Uncomment this for full releases
+_version_extra = "rc1"
+# _version_extra = ""  # Uncomment this for full releases
 
 # Construct full version string from these.
 _ver = [_version_major, _version_minor, _version_patch]