diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 490f979bba746c65b69a5bea845027a18fd88fed..8ca3774e67a8dd14a2758c769fe8cc6823c0e6fc 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -15,9 +15,9 @@ cd eic_container
    modeuefile will be installed to `$PREFIX/../../etc/modulefiles`. 
    You can use the `-v` flag to select the version you want to install, or omit the 
    flag if you want to install the master build. The recommended stable 
-   release version is `v2.6.1`.
+   release version is `v2.8.0`.
 ```bash
-./install.py -v 2.6.1 <PREFIX>
+./install.py -v 2.8.0 <PREFIX>
 ```
 
    Available flags:
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index c8e38b614057b7e417c63fde44726a4143de9da0..834f2629538327723c074ed4c3addca9888f0256 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-2.9.0
+2.8.0