diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 91b7beb8e7..1a3b2a8534 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ endif()
 
 include(${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/cmake/ADIOSFunctions.cmake)
 
-setup_version(2.9.0)
+setup_version(2.10.0)
 
 project(ADIOS2 VERSION ${ADIOS2_VERSION})
 
diff --git a/ReadMe.md b/ReadMe.md
index 3ff8b526b0..96fa7c26f0 100644
--- a/ReadMe.md
+++ b/ReadMe.md
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ Once ADIOS2 is installed refer to:
 
 ## Releases
 
-* Latest release: [v2.9.2](https://github.com/ornladios/ADIOS2/releases/tag/v2.9.2)
+* Latest release: [v2.10.0-rc1](https://github.com/ornladios/ADIOS2/releases/tag/v2.10.0-rc1)
 
 * Previous releases: [https://github.com/ornladios/ADIOS2/releases](https://github.com/ornladios/ADIOS2/releases)
 
diff --git a/docs/user_guide/source/conf.py b/docs/user_guide/source/conf.py
index 329de1fc7d..f3f49453d4 100644
--- a/docs/user_guide/source/conf.py
+++ b/docs/user_guide/source/conf.py
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@
 # The short X.Y version.
 version = u'2'
 # The full version, including alpha/beta/rc tags.
-release = u'2.9.0'
+release = u'2.10.0-rc1'
 
 # The language for content autogenerated by Sphinx. Refer to documentation
 # for a list of supported languages.
diff --git a/source/adios2/engine/bp5/BP5Writer.cpp b/source/adios2/engine/bp5/BP5Writer.cpp
index 82a82886f4..69c0c4ec86 100644
--- a/source/adios2/engine/bp5/BP5Writer.cpp
+++ b/source/adios2/engine/bp5/BP5Writer.cpp
@@ -1236,7 +1236,8 @@ void BP5Writer::MakeHeader(std::vector<char> &buffer, size_t &position, const st
     }
 
     const std::string majorVersion(std::to_string(ADIOS2_VERSION_MAJOR));
-    const std::string minorVersion(std::to_string(ADIOS2_VERSION_MINOR));
+    const char minorVersionChar = '0' + ADIOS2_VERSION_MINOR;
+    const std::string minorVersion(1, minorVersionChar);
     const std::string patchVersion(std::to_string(ADIOS2_VERSION_PATCH));
 
     // byte 0-31: Readable tag
diff --git a/source/adios2/toolkit/format/bp/BPSerializer.cpp b/source/adios2/toolkit/format/bp/BPSerializer.cpp
index 57c9100fc9..51b9a224f5 100644
--- a/source/adios2/toolkit/format/bp/BPSerializer.cpp
+++ b/source/adios2/toolkit/format/bp/BPSerializer.cpp
@@ -232,7 +232,8 @@ void BPSerializer::PutMinifooter(const uint64_t pgIndexStart, const uint64_t var
     };
 
     const std::string majorVersion(std::to_string(ADIOS2_VERSION_MAJOR));
-    const std::string minorVersion(std::to_string(ADIOS2_VERSION_MINOR));
+    const char minorVersionChar = '0' + ADIOS2_VERSION_MINOR;
+    const std::string minorVersion(1, minorVersionChar);
     const std::string patchVersion(std::to_string(ADIOS2_VERSION_PATCH));
 
     const std::string versionLongTag("ADIOS-BP v" + majorVersion + "." + minorVersion + "." +
diff --git a/source/adios2/toolkit/format/bp/bp4/BP4Serializer.cpp b/source/adios2/toolkit/format/bp/bp4/BP4Serializer.cpp
index fc28640bae..46e8c59b45 100644
--- a/source/adios2/toolkit/format/bp/bp4/BP4Serializer.cpp
+++ b/source/adios2/toolkit/format/bp/bp4/BP4Serializer.cpp
@@ -61,7 +61,8 @@ void BP4Serializer::MakeHeader(BufferSTL &b, const std::string fileType, const b
     }
 
     const std::string majorVersion(std::to_string(ADIOS2_VERSION_MAJOR));
-    const std::string minorVersion(std::to_string(ADIOS2_VERSION_MINOR));
+    const char minorVersionChar = '0' + ADIOS2_VERSION_MINOR;
+    const std::string minorVersion(1, minorVersionChar);
     const std::string patchVersion(std::to_string(ADIOS2_VERSION_PATCH));
 
     // byte 0-31: Readable tag