diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index c07990028..6b3de5e82 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+2.8.5.dev0
+----------
+
 2.8.4
 -----
 
diff --git a/_pytest/__init__.py b/_pytest/__init__.py
index df1f82746..608589106 100644
--- a/_pytest/__init__.py
+++ b/_pytest/__init__.py
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
 #
-__version__ = '2.8.4'
+__version__ = '2.8.5.dev0'