diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 26ec98d8c455..42bc5542eb6c 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
 VERSION = 6
 PATCHLEVEL = 6
-SUBLEVEL = 43
-EXTRAVERSION =
+SUBLEVEL = 44
+EXTRAVERSION = -rc1
 NAME = Hurr durr I'ma ninja sloth
 
 # *DOCUMENTATION*