diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 3329ee4f7..ac914b194 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 [1]: https://pypi.org/project/google-cloud-storage/#history
 
-## [3.0.0](https://github.com/googleapis/python-storage/compare/v2.19.0...v3.0.0) (2024-12-12)
+## [3.0.0rc1](https://github.com/googleapis/python-storage/compare/v2.19.0...v3.0.0rc1) (2024-12-12)
 
 
 ### ⚠ BREAKING CHANGES
diff --git a/google/cloud/storage/version.py b/google/cloud/storage/version.py
index d6f7def8c..6f72a5aa8 100644
--- a/google/cloud/storage/version.py
+++ b/google/cloud/storage/version.py
@@ -12,4 +12,4 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-__version__ = "3.0.0"
+__version__ = "3.0.0rc1"