diff --git a/CHANGES b/CHANGES
index ddeebeee..097d7228 100644
--- a/CHANGES
+++ b/CHANGES
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-CHANGES FROM 2.9 to X.X
+CHANGES FROM 2.9 to 3.0
 
 * Add an addition form of string syntax in the configuration file - {}. This
   means commands that take other commands as string arguments can be expressed
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 0795bd64..2c1a8945 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # configure.ac
 
-AC_INIT([tmux], next-3.0)
+AC_INIT([tmux], 3.0-rc)
 AC_PREREQ([2.60])
 
 AC_CONFIG_AUX_DIR(etc)