diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal.php b/core/lib/Drupal.php
index 1697ff62a24067b1ea6965f9a1e73926dba9467c..eec87b36ad590261219d2da2cd0b0de31afb01e8 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal.php
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ class Drupal {
   /**
    * The current system version.
    */
-  const VERSION = '8.5.0-dev';
+  const VERSION = '8.5.0-rc1';
 
   /**
    * Core API compatibility.