diff --git a/CHANGES.rst b/CHANGES.rst
index f380df15fee..e7d3d1cd0b3 100644
--- a/CHANGES.rst
+++ b/CHANGES.rst
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-Release 7.4.4 (in development)
-==============================
+Release 7.4.4 (released Jul 15, 2024)
+=====================================
 
 Bugs fixed
 ----------
diff --git a/sphinx/__init__.py b/sphinx/__init__.py
index 9a3162951d0..d1610c2af1e 100644
--- a/sphinx/__init__.py
+++ b/sphinx/__init__.py
@@ -27,11 +27,11 @@
 #:
 #: .. versionadded:: 1.2
 #:    Before version 1.2, check the string ``sphinx.__version__``.
-version_info = (7, 4, 4, 'beta', 0)
+version_info = (7, 4, 4, 'final', 0)
 
 package_dir = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
 
-_in_development = True
+_in_development = False
 if _in_development:
     # Only import subprocess if needed
     import subprocess