diff --git a/pkg/model/resource/gvk.go b/pkg/model/resource/gvk.go
index 811edf1972..a17e7fd287 100644
--- a/pkg/model/resource/gvk.go
+++ b/pkg/model/resource/gvk.go
@@ -18,17 +18,24 @@ package resource
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"regexp"
 	"strings"
 
 	"sigs.k8s.io/kubebuilder/v3/pkg/internal/validation"
 )
 
 const (
+	versionPattern = "^v\\d+(?:alpha\\d+|beta\\d+)?$"
+
 	groupRequired   = "group cannot be empty if the domain is empty"
 	versionRequired = "version cannot be empty"
 	kindRequired    = "kind cannot be empty"
 )
 
+var (
+	versionRegex = regexp.MustCompile(versionPattern)
+)
+
 // GVK stores the Group - Version - Kind triplet that uniquely identifies a resource.
 // In kubebuilder, the k8s fully qualified group is stored as Group and Domain to improve UX.
 type GVK struct {
@@ -53,9 +60,8 @@ func (gvk GVK) Validate() error {
 	if gvk.Version == "" {
 		return fmt.Errorf(versionRequired)
 	}
-	if err := validation.IsDNS1035Label(gvk.Version); err != nil {
-		// NOTE: IsDNS1035Label returns a slice of strings instead of an error, so no wrapping
-		return fmt.Errorf("invalid Version: %#v", err)
+	if !versionRegex.MatchString(gvk.Version) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("Version must match %s (was %s)", versionPattern, gvk.Version)
 	}
 
 	// Check if kind has a valid DNS1035 label value
diff --git a/pkg/model/resource/gvk_test.go b/pkg/model/resource/gvk_test.go
index e04ff1c18a..8b93bef4dd 100644
--- a/pkg/model/resource/gvk_test.go
+++ b/pkg/model/resource/gvk_test.go
@@ -47,9 +47,13 @@ var _ = Describe("GVK", func() {
 			Entry("Domain (non-alpha characters)", GVK{Group: group, Domain: "_*?", Version: version, Kind: kind}),
 			Entry("Group and Domain (empty)", GVK{Group: "", Domain: "", Version: version, Kind: kind}),
 			Entry("Version (empty)", GVK{Group: group, Domain: domain, Version: "", Kind: kind}),
-			Entry("Version (starts with number)", GVK{Group: group, Domain: domain, Version: "1", Kind: kind}),
-			Entry("Version (uppercase)", GVK{Group: group, Domain: domain, Version: "V1", Kind: kind}),
-			Entry("Version (non-alpha characters)", GVK{Group: group, Domain: domain, Version: "_*?", Kind: kind}),
+			Entry("Version (no v prefix)", GVK{Group: group, Domain: domain, Version: "1", Kind: kind}),
+			Entry("Version (wrong prefix)", GVK{Group: group, Domain: domain, Version: "a1", Kind: kind}),
+			Entry("Version (unstable no v prefix)", GVK{Group: group, Domain: domain, Version: "1beta1", Kind: kind}),
+			Entry("Version (unstable no alpha/beta number)",
+				GVK{Group: group, Domain: domain, Version: "v1beta", Kind: kind}),
+			Entry("Version (multiple unstable)",
+				GVK{Group: group, Domain: domain, Version: "v1beta1alpha1", Kind: kind}),
 			Entry("Kind (empty)", GVK{Group: group, Domain: domain, Version: version, Kind: ""}),
 			Entry("Kind (whitespaces)", GVK{Group: group, Domain: domain, Version: version, Kind: "Ki nd"}),
 			Entry("Kind (lowercase)", GVK{Group: group, Domain: domain, Version: version, Kind: "kind"}),