diff --git a/.release-please-manifest.json b/.release-please-manifest.json
index 7c75dce2f0..2324273425 100644
--- a/.release-please-manifest.json
+++ b/.release-please-manifest.json
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 {
-  ".": "2.60.0"
+  ".": "2.61.0-rc1"
 }
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 51558248ec..d87b8e9ca1 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,28 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [2.61.0-rc1](https://github.com/googleapis/java-storage/compare/v2.60.0...v2.61.0-rc1) (2025-12-05)
+
+
+### Features
+
+* add Content-* , Cache-Control and x-goog-user-project header support to CreateMultipartUploadRequest ([763293b](https://github.com/googleapis/java-storage/commit/763293be11c0cd28717358b54b84db2cfbf4d246))
+* add UploadPartRequest.crc32c property and requisite plumbing ([#3395](https://github.com/googleapis/java-storage/issues/3395)) ([6f4d255](https://github.com/googleapis/java-storage/commit/6f4d255770131f5e3054fd611d3ccd417bc06407))
+
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+* change [@since](https://github.com/since) to the next version ([2f5450b](https://github.com/googleapis/java-storage/commit/2f5450b820f9bdee26da08c16ec71f856e1b9ebb))
+* **deps:** update the Java code generator (gapic-generator-java) to 2.64.1 ([511ff51](https://github.com/googleapis/java-storage/commit/511ff514410e55425e968ab900ac1b8825fe507a))
+* Fixing formatting issues ([af7800c](https://github.com/googleapis/java-storage/commit/af7800c9a8c1cfcb8e6bab877055b3c12a2051dd))
+* Formatting fixes ([6b14271](https://github.com/googleapis/java-storage/commit/6b1427133e5fa50253296ade71410702cbbc7619))
+* next release candidate ([eec9efa](https://github.com/googleapis/java-storage/commit/eec9efaa88f14bea4f20e1883455a9e5331c278f))
+
+
+### Dependencies
+
+* update gcr.io/cloud-devrel-public-resources/storage-testbench docker tag to v0.59.0 ([f5d8337](https://github.com/googleapis/java-storage/commit/f5d8337ad556770a55cc260975e44e85e8e831b0))
+* update gcr.io/cloud-devrel-public-resources/storage-testbench docker tag to v0.59.0 ([5480ce3](https://github.com/googleapis/java-storage/commit/5480ce347493ec425b675f462a42f45c22b06c28))
+
 ## [2.60.0](https://github.com/googleapis/java-storage/compare/v2.59.0...v2.60.0) (2025-11-07)
 
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c724578705..8f883b045f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -66,13 +66,13 @@ implementation 'com.google.cloud:google-cloud-storage'
 If you are using Gradle without BOM, add this to your dependencies:
 
 ```Groovy
-implementation 'com.google.cloud:google-cloud-storage:2.60.0'
+implementation 'com.google.cloud:google-cloud-storage:2.61.0-rc1'
 ```
 
 If you are using SBT, add this to your dependencies:
 
 ```Scala
-libraryDependencies += "com.google.cloud" % "google-cloud-storage" % "2.60.0"
+libraryDependencies += "com.google.cloud" % "google-cloud-storage" % "2.61.0-rc1"
 ```
 
 ## Authentication
@@ -484,7 +484,7 @@ Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
 [kokoro-badge-link-5]: http://storage.googleapis.com/cloud-devrel-public/java/badges/java-storage/java11.html
 [stability-image]: https://img.shields.io/badge/stability-stable-green
 [maven-version-image]: https://img.shields.io/maven-central/v/com.google.cloud/google-cloud-storage.svg
-[maven-version-link]: https://central.sonatype.com/artifact/com.google.cloud/google-cloud-storage/2.60.0
+[maven-version-link]: https://central.sonatype.com/artifact/com.google.cloud/google-cloud-storage/2.61.0-rc1
 [authentication]: https://github.com/googleapis/google-cloud-java#authentication
 [auth-scopes]: https://developers.google.com/identity/protocols/oauth2/scopes
 [predefined-iam-roles]: https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/understanding-roles#predefined_roles
diff --git a/gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2/pom.xml b/gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2/pom.xml
index 4d78249222..8363e2079f 100644
--- a/gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2/pom.xml
+++ b/gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2/pom.xml
@@ -4,13 +4,13 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
   <groupId>com.google.api.grpc</groupId>
   <artifactId>gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2</artifactId>
-  <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
+  <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
   <name>gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2</name>
   <description>GRPC library for gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2</description>
   <parent>
     <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
     <artifactId>google-cloud-storage-parent</artifactId>
-    <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
+    <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
   </parent>
   <dependencies>
     <dependency>
diff --git a/google-cloud-storage-bom/pom.xml b/google-cloud-storage-bom/pom.xml
index 1eaee5f54e..41da5062e8 100644
--- a/google-cloud-storage-bom/pom.xml
+++ b/google-cloud-storage-bom/pom.xml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
   <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
   <artifactId>google-cloud-storage-bom</artifactId>
-  <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
+  <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
   <packaging>pom</packaging>
   <parent>
     <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
@@ -69,37 +69,37 @@
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
         <artifactId>google-cloud-storage</artifactId>
-        <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
+        <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
       </dependency>
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.api.grpc</groupId>
         <artifactId>gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2</artifactId>
-        <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
+        <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
       </dependency>
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.api.grpc</groupId>
         <artifactId>grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2</artifactId>
-        <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
+        <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
       </dependency>
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.api.grpc</groupId>
         <artifactId>proto-google-cloud-storage-v2</artifactId>
-        <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:proto-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
+        <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:proto-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
       </dependency>
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
         <artifactId>google-cloud-storage-control</artifactId>
-        <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage-control:current} -->
+        <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage-control:current} -->
       </dependency>
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.api.grpc</groupId>
         <artifactId>grpc-google-cloud-storage-control-v2</artifactId>
-        <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:grpc-google-cloud-storage-control-v2:current} -->
+        <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:grpc-google-cloud-storage-control-v2:current} -->
       </dependency>
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.api.grpc</groupId>
         <artifactId>proto-google-cloud-storage-control-v2</artifactId>
-        <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:proto-google-cloud-storage-control-v2:current} -->
+        <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:proto-google-cloud-storage-control-v2:current} -->
       </dependency>
     </dependencies>
   </dependencyManagement>
diff --git a/google-cloud-storage-control/pom.xml b/google-cloud-storage-control/pom.xml
index 5d243dc419..d939df8a7e 100644
--- a/google-cloud-storage-control/pom.xml
+++ b/google-cloud-storage-control/pom.xml
@@ -5,13 +5,13 @@
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
     <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
     <artifactId>google-cloud-storage-control</artifactId>
-    <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage-control:current} -->
+    <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage-control:current} -->
     <name>google-cloud-storage-control</name>
     <description>GRPC library for google-cloud-storage-control</description>
     <parent>
         <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
         <artifactId>google-cloud-storage-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
+        <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
     </parent>
 
     <dependencies>
diff --git a/google-cloud-storage/pom.xml b/google-cloud-storage/pom.xml
index 56552e51e7..bb053dcf2f 100644
--- a/google-cloud-storage/pom.xml
+++ b/google-cloud-storage/pom.xml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 <project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
   <artifactId>google-cloud-storage</artifactId>
-  <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
+  <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
   <packaging>jar</packaging>
   <name>Google Cloud Storage</name>
   <url>https://github.com/googleapis/java-storage</url>
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
     <artifactId>google-cloud-storage-parent</artifactId>
-    <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
+    <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
   </parent>
   <properties>
     <site.installationModule>google-cloud-storage</site.installationModule>
diff --git a/grpc-google-cloud-storage-control-v2/pom.xml b/grpc-google-cloud-storage-control-v2/pom.xml
index 4c9ad3d268..11d6cd61ad 100644
--- a/grpc-google-cloud-storage-control-v2/pom.xml
+++ b/grpc-google-cloud-storage-control-v2/pom.xml
@@ -4,13 +4,13 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
   <groupId>com.google.api.grpc</groupId>
   <artifactId>grpc-google-cloud-storage-control-v2</artifactId>
-  <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:grpc-google-cloud-storage-control-v2:current} -->
+  <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:grpc-google-cloud-storage-control-v2:current} -->
   <name>grpc-google-cloud-storage-control-v2</name>
   <description>GRPC library for google-cloud-storage</description>
   <parent>
     <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
     <artifactId>google-cloud-storage-parent</artifactId>
-    <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
+    <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
   </parent>
   <dependencies>
     <dependency>
diff --git a/grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2/pom.xml b/grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2/pom.xml
index 0a99cea3bc..cb840190b3 100644
--- a/grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2/pom.xml
+++ b/grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2/pom.xml
@@ -4,13 +4,13 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
   <groupId>com.google.api.grpc</groupId>
   <artifactId>grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2</artifactId>
-  <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
+  <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
   <name>grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2</name>
   <description>GRPC library for grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2</description>
   <parent>
     <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
     <artifactId>google-cloud-storage-parent</artifactId>
-    <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
+    <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
   </parent>
   <dependencies>
     <dependency>
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 11e328f18d..e9204ddde8 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
   <artifactId>google-cloud-storage-parent</artifactId>
   <packaging>pom</packaging>
-  <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
+  <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
   <name>Storage Parent</name>
   <url>https://github.com/googleapis/java-storage</url>
   <description>
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
         <artifactId>google-cloud-storage</artifactId>
-        <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
+        <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
       </dependency>
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.apis</groupId>
@@ -104,32 +104,32 @@
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.api.grpc</groupId>
         <artifactId>proto-google-cloud-storage-v2</artifactId>
-        <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:proto-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
+        <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:proto-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
       </dependency>
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.api.grpc</groupId>
         <artifactId>grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2</artifactId>
-        <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
+        <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
       </dependency>
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.api.grpc</groupId>
         <artifactId>gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2</artifactId>
-        <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
+        <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
       </dependency>
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.api.grpc</groupId>
         <artifactId>grpc-google-cloud-storage-control-v2</artifactId>
-        <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:grpc-google-cloud-storage-control-v2:current} -->
+        <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:grpc-google-cloud-storage-control-v2:current} -->
       </dependency>
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.api.grpc</groupId>
         <artifactId>proto-google-cloud-storage-control-v2</artifactId>
-        <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:proto-google-cloud-storage-control-v2:current} -->
+        <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:proto-google-cloud-storage-control-v2:current} -->
       </dependency>
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
         <artifactId>google-cloud-storage-control</artifactId>
-        <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage-control:current} -->
+        <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage-control:current} -->
       </dependency>
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
diff --git a/proto-google-cloud-storage-control-v2/pom.xml b/proto-google-cloud-storage-control-v2/pom.xml
index 8727018370..d8e27e5467 100644
--- a/proto-google-cloud-storage-control-v2/pom.xml
+++ b/proto-google-cloud-storage-control-v2/pom.xml
@@ -4,13 +4,13 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
   <groupId>com.google.api.grpc</groupId>
   <artifactId>proto-google-cloud-storage-control-v2</artifactId>
-  <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:proto-google-cloud-storage-control-v2:current} -->
+  <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:proto-google-cloud-storage-control-v2:current} -->
   <name>proto-google-cloud-storage-control-v2</name>
   <description>Proto library for  proto-google-cloud-storage-control-v2</description>
   <parent>
     <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
     <artifactId>google-cloud-storage-parent</artifactId>
-    <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
+    <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
   </parent>
   <dependencies>
     <dependency>
diff --git a/proto-google-cloud-storage-v2/pom.xml b/proto-google-cloud-storage-v2/pom.xml
index f05f4253b9..7d8d3023a3 100644
--- a/proto-google-cloud-storage-v2/pom.xml
+++ b/proto-google-cloud-storage-v2/pom.xml
@@ -4,13 +4,13 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
   <groupId>com.google.api.grpc</groupId>
   <artifactId>proto-google-cloud-storage-v2</artifactId>
-  <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:proto-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
+  <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:proto-google-cloud-storage-v2:current} -->
   <name>proto-google-cloud-storage-v2</name>
   <description>PROTO library for proto-google-cloud-storage-v2</description>
   <parent>
     <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
     <artifactId>google-cloud-storage-parent</artifactId>
-    <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
+    <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
   </parent>
   <dependencies>
     <dependency>
diff --git a/samples/snapshot/pom.xml b/samples/snapshot/pom.xml
index bc204e262e..36043403fd 100644
--- a/samples/snapshot/pom.xml
+++ b/samples/snapshot/pom.xml
@@ -28,12 +28,12 @@
     <dependency>
       <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
       <artifactId>google-cloud-storage</artifactId>
-      <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
+      <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
     </dependency>
     <dependency>
       <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
       <artifactId>google-cloud-storage-control</artifactId>
-      <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage-control:current} -->
+      <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage-control:current} -->
       <scope>compile</scope>
     </dependency>
 
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@
     <dependency>
       <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
       <artifactId>google-cloud-storage</artifactId>
-      <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
+      <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
       <classifier>tests</classifier>
       <scope>test</scope>
     </dependency>
diff --git a/storage-shared-benchmarking/pom.xml b/storage-shared-benchmarking/pom.xml
index 96f3a165bc..e290916b58 100644
--- a/storage-shared-benchmarking/pom.xml
+++ b/storage-shared-benchmarking/pom.xml
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
     <artifactId>google-cloud-storage-parent</artifactId>
-    <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
+    <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
   </parent>
 
   <properties>
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
     <dependency>
       <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
       <artifactId>google-cloud-storage</artifactId>
-      <version>2.60.1-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
+      <version>2.61.0-rc1</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
       <classifier>tests</classifier>
     </dependency>
     <dependency>
diff --git a/versions.txt b/versions.txt
index f1084624ee..fd464e36f8 100644
--- a/versions.txt
+++ b/versions.txt
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 # Format:
 # module:released-version:current-version
 
-google-cloud-storage:2.60.0:2.60.1-SNAPSHOT
-gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2:2.60.0:2.60.1-SNAPSHOT
-grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2:2.60.0:2.60.1-SNAPSHOT
-proto-google-cloud-storage-v2:2.60.0:2.60.1-SNAPSHOT
-google-cloud-storage-control:2.60.0:2.60.1-SNAPSHOT
-proto-google-cloud-storage-control-v2:2.60.0:2.60.1-SNAPSHOT
-grpc-google-cloud-storage-control-v2:2.60.0:2.60.1-SNAPSHOT
+google-cloud-storage:2.61.0-rc1:2.61.0-rc1
+gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2:2.61.0-rc1:2.61.0-rc1
+grpc-google-cloud-storage-v2:2.61.0-rc1:2.61.0-rc1
+proto-google-cloud-storage-v2:2.61.0-rc1:2.61.0-rc1
+google-cloud-storage-control:2.61.0-rc1:2.61.0-rc1
+proto-google-cloud-storage-control-v2:2.61.0-rc1:2.61.0-rc1
+grpc-google-cloud-storage-control-v2:2.61.0-rc1:2.61.0-rc1