diff --git a/changelog.rst b/changelog.rst
index ff58bd7f..65f96c21 100644
--- a/changelog.rst
+++ b/changelog.rst
@@ -1,6 +1,15 @@
 ZoiteChat ChangeLog
 =================
 
+2.18.0~pre2 (2026-02-25)
+------------------------
+
+- Added HexChat plugin compatibility improvements.
+- Fixed the user info right-click menu so it updates properly.
+- Added support for emoji characters in alert highlights.
+- Removed remaining unused GTK2 code paths.
+- Continued GTK3 cleanup and packaging alignment work.
+
 2.18.0-pre1 (2026-02-16)
 ------------------------
 
diff --git a/data/misc/net.zoite.Zoitechat.appdata.xml.in b/data/misc/net.zoite.Zoitechat.appdata.xml.in
index 7f9e1027..e36a2f5a 100644
--- a/data/misc/net.zoite.Zoitechat.appdata.xml.in
+++ b/data/misc/net.zoite.Zoitechat.appdata.xml.in
@@ -25,6 +25,17 @@
     <id>zoitechat.desktop</id>
   </provides>
 <releases>
+  <release date="2026-02-25" version="2.18.0~pre2">
+    <description>
+      <p>Compatibility and UI improvements:</p>
+      <ul>
+        <li>Added HexChat plugin compatibility improvements.</li>
+        <li>Fixed the user info right-click menu so it updates properly.</li>
+        <li>Added support for emoji characters in alert highlights.</li>
+        <li>Removed remaining unused GTK2 code paths.</li>
+      </ul>
+    </description>
+  </release>
   <release date="2026-02-16" version="2.18.0-pre1">
     <description>
       <p>Packaging and GTK3 improvements:</p>
diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog
index 6faf5f95..be73502c 100644
--- a/debian/changelog
+++ b/debian/changelog
@@ -1,3 +1,13 @@
+zoitechat (2.18.0~pre2-1) unstable; urgency=medium
+
+  * New upstream pre-release 2.18.0~pre2.
+  * Added HexChat plugin compatibility improvements.
+  * Fixed user info right-click menu refresh behavior.
+  * Added support for emoji characters in alert highlight matching.
+  * Removed remaining unused GTK2 code paths.
+
+ -- ZoiteChat Maintainers <zoitechat@users.noreply.github.com>  Wed, 25 Feb 2026 02:16:43 +0000
+
 zoitechat (2.18.0~pre1-1) unstable; urgency=medium
 
   * New upstream pre-release 2.18.0~pre1.
diff --git a/debian/control b/debian/control
index 8bbc1d49..5938fbe2 100644
--- a/debian/control
+++ b/debian/control
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ Suggests:
  zoitechat-python3,
  zoitechat-otr,
  unifont
-Description: IRC client for GNOME (fork of HexChat 2.18.0-pre1 base)
+Description: IRC client for GNOME (fork of HexChat 2.18.0~pre2 base)
  ZoiteChat is a graphical IRC client with a GTK 3 GUI. Features include Python,
  Perl and Lua scripting support, a plugin API, multiple server/channel
  windows, spell checking, multiple authentication methods including SASL, and
diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index dae1c1ad..3d9056fa 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 project('zoitechat', 'c',
-  version: '2.18.0-pre1',
+  version: '2.18.0~pre2',
   meson_version: '>= 0.55.0',
   default_options: [
     'c_std=c17',
diff --git a/packaging/solus/package.yml b/packaging/solus/package.yml
index ac791636..f80dd180 100644
--- a/packaging/solus/package.yml
+++ b/packaging/solus/package.yml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name       : zoitechat
-version    : 2.18.0
+version    : 2.18.0~pre2
 release    : 2
 source     :
     - https://github.com/ZoiteChat/zoitechat/archive/e060d57baee1be22bee1f9c3b047be3fa71c6d35.tar.gz : ed315a0b1c46e798912fd830d3845427972857c43ccaa16284969c6f542add38
diff --git a/plugins/python/python.py b/plugins/python/python.py
index b8767a8e..fb9c0677 100644
--- a/plugins/python/python.py
+++ b/plugins/python/python.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ else:
 if not hasattr(sys, 'argv'):
     sys.argv = ['<zoitechat>']
 
-VERSION = b'2.18.0-pre1'  # Sync with zoitechat.__version__
+VERSION = b'2.18.0~pre2'  # Sync with zoitechat.__version__
 PLUGIN_NAME = ffi.new('char[]', b'Python')
 PLUGIN_DESC = ffi.new('char[]', b'Python %d.%d scripting interface' % (sys.version_info[0], sys.version_info[1]))
 PLUGIN_VERSION = ffi.new('char[]', VERSION)
diff --git a/win32/version.txt b/win32/version.txt
index 9d466af9..4d4d58e0 100644
--- a/win32/version.txt
+++ b/win32/version.txt
@@ -1 +1 @@
-2.18.0-pre1
+2.18.0~pre2