diff --git a/CHANGES b/CHANGES
index 5a8e24a6fd1..9c69efbc7b7 100644
--- a/CHANGES
+++ b/CHANGES
@@ -1,3 +1,10 @@
+Release 7.2.6 (in development)
+==============================
+
+Bugs fixed
+----------
+
+
 Release 7.2.5 (released Aug 30, 2023)
 =====================================
 
diff --git a/sphinx/__init__.py b/sphinx/__init__.py
index 46b691247b3..58e685a180f 100644
--- a/sphinx/__init__.py
+++ b/sphinx/__init__.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 warnings.filterwarnings('ignore', 'The frontend.Option class .*',
                         DeprecationWarning, module='docutils.frontend')
 
-__version__ = '7.2.5'
+__version__ = '7.2.6'
 __display_version__ = __version__  # used for command line version
 
 #: Version info for better programmatic use.
@@ -30,11 +30,11 @@
 #:
 #: .. versionadded:: 1.2
 #:    Before version 1.2, check the string ``sphinx.__version__``.
-version_info = (7, 2, 5, 'final', 0)
+version_info = (7, 2, 6, 'beta', 0)
 
 package_dir = path.abspath(path.dirname(__file__))
 
-_in_development = False
+_in_development = True
 if _in_development:
     # Only import subprocess if needed
     import subprocess