diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 08e2a101e1..240c41f1a9 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@ This document summarizes the most important changes in the current Zeek
 release. For an exhaustive list of changes, see the ``CHANGES`` file
 (note that submodules, such as Broker, come with their own ``CHANGES``.)
 
+Zeek 6.0.0
+==========
+
 Zeek 5.2.0
 ==========
 
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index c86e9a4245..420dc8d241 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-5.2.0-dev.637
+6.0.0-dev