diff --git a/onmt/__init__.py b/onmt/__init__.py
index 9f0eab7aeb..aad5c97181 100644
--- a/onmt/__init__.py
+++ b/onmt/__init__.py
@@ -17,4 +17,4 @@
 __all__ = [onmt.inputters, onmt.encoders, onmt.decoders, onmt.models,
            onmt.utils, onmt.modules, "Trainer"]
 
-__version__ = "1.2.0"
+__version__ = "2.0.0rc1"
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 71a180ed49..11c30d9bf1 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
     description='A python implementation of OpenNMT',
     long_description=long_description,
     long_description_content_type='text/markdown',
-    version='1.2.0',
+    version='2.0.0rc1',
     packages=find_packages(),
     project_urls={
         "Documentation": "http://opennmt.net/OpenNMT-py/",