diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 4c8b62275..7ed17120c 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ else
     VERSION   ?= ${VERSION}
 endif
 
-RELEASE = v1.27.0
+RELEASE = v1.28.0
 
 GOOS ?= linux
 ARCH ?= amd64
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e7895c7de..ee721707d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ cloud-provider specific code out of the Kubernetes codebase.
 
 
 Note: 
-Versions older than v1.25.2 are no longer supported, new features / bug fixes will be available in v1.25.2 and later. 
+Versions older than v1.26.3 are no longer supported, new features / bug fixes will be available in v1.26.3 and later. 
 
 ## Implementation
  Currently `oci-cloud-controller-manager` implements:
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index b0c101e63..e0250ea3c 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.27
+1.28