diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index bb8f4bc589d2..131cc36bca29 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 VERSION = 2
 PATCHLEVEL = 6
 SUBLEVEL = 16
-EXTRAVERSION = .43
+EXTRAVERSION = .44-rc1
 NAME=Stable Penguin
 
 # *DOCUMENTATION*