diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md
index f46b4866557..80b3f57601f 100644
--- a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md
@@ -35,5 +35,5 @@ Include the output of `rubocop -V` or `bundle exec rubocop -V` if using Bundler.
 
 ```
 $ [bundle exec] rubocop -V
-0.78.0 (using Parser 2.5.1.2, running on ruby 2.5.1 x86_64-linux)
+0.79.0 (using Parser 2.5.1.2, running on ruby 2.5.1 x86_64-linux)
 ```
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 390f19d1284..d3dbe877be1 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 ## master (unreleased)
 
+## 0.79.0 (2020-01-06)
+
 ### New features
 
 * [#7296](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/issues/7296): Recognize `console` and `binding.console` ([rails/web-console](https://github.com/rails/web-console)) calls in `Lint/Debuggers`. ([@gsamokovarov][])
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 87667fcb45d..5ffb81503e0 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ haven't reached version 1.0 yet). To prevent an unwanted RuboCop update you
 might want to use a conservative version lock in your `Gemfile`:
 
 ```rb
-gem 'rubocop', '~> 0.78.0', require: false
+gem 'rubocop', '~> 0.79.0', require: false
 ```
 
 ## Quickstart
diff --git a/lib/rubocop/version.rb b/lib/rubocop/version.rb
index 4993e5905d0..a0c701b66fc 100644
--- a/lib/rubocop/version.rb
+++ b/lib/rubocop/version.rb
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 module RuboCop
   # This module holds the RuboCop version information.
   module Version
-    STRING = '0.78.0'
+    STRING = '0.79.0'
 
     MSG = '%<version>s (using Parser %<parser_version>s, running on ' \
           '%<ruby_engine>s %<ruby_version>s %<ruby_platform>s)'
diff --git a/manual/installation.md b/manual/installation.md
index f2279c55dec..d659e71e0d2 100644
--- a/manual/installation.md
+++ b/manual/installation.md
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ haven't reached version 1.0 yet). To prevent an unwanted RuboCop update you
 might want to use a conservative version locking in your `Gemfile`:
 
 ```rb
-gem 'rubocop', '~> 0.78.0', require: false
+gem 'rubocop', '~> 0.79.0', require: false
 ```
 
 !!! Note
diff --git a/relnotes/v0.79.0.md b/relnotes/v0.79.0.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..bc52f838a7e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/relnotes/v0.79.0.md
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+### New features
+
+* [#7296](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/issues/7296): Recognize `console` and `binding.console` ([rails/web-console](https://github.com/rails/web-console)) calls in `Lint/Debuggers`. ([@gsamokovarov][])
+* [#7567](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/pull/7567): Introduce new `pending` status for new cops. ([@Darhazer][], [@pirj][])
+
+### Bug fixes
+
+* [#7193](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/issues/7193): Prevent `Style/PercentLiteralDelimiters` from changing `%i` literals that contain escaped delimiters. ([@buehmann][])
+* [#7590](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/issues/7590): Fix an error for `Layout/SpaceBeforeBlockBraces` when using with `EnforcedStyle: line_count_based` of `Style/BlockDelimiters` cop. ([@koic][])
+* [#7569](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/issues/7569): Make `Style/YodaCondition` accept `__FILE__ == $0`. ([@koic][])
+* [#7576](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/issues/7576): Fix an error for `Gemspec/OrderedDependencies` when using a local variable in an argument of dependent gem. ([@koic][])
+* [#7595](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/issues/7595): Make `Style/NumericPredicate` aware of ignored methods when specifying ignored methods. ([@koic][])
+* [#7607](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/issues/7607): Fix `Style/FrozenStringLiteralComment` infinite loop when magic comments are newline-separated. ([@pirj][])
+* [#7602](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/pull/7602): Ensure proper handling of Ruby 2.7 syntax. ([@drenmi][])
+* [#7620](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/issues/7620): Fix a false positive for `Migration/DepartmentName` when a disable comment contains a plain comment. ([@koic][])
+* [#7616](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/issues/7616): Fix an incorrect autocorrect for `Style/MultilineWhenThen` for when statement with then is an array or a hash. ([@koic][])
+* [#7628](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/issues/7628): Fix an incorrect autocorrect for `Layout/MultilineBlockLayout` removing trailing comma with single argument. ([@pawptart][])
+* [#7627](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/issues/7627): Fix a false negative for `Migration/DepartmentName` when there is space around `:` (e.g. `# rubocop : disable`). ([@koic][])
+
+### Changes
+
+* [#7287](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/rubocop/issues/7287): `Style/FrozenStringLiteralComment` is now considered unsafe. ([@buehmann][])
+
+[@gsamokovarov]: https://github.com/gsamokovarov
+[@Darhazer]: https://github.com/Darhazer
+[@pirj]: https://github.com/pirj
+[@buehmann]: https://github.com/buehmann
+[@koic]: https://github.com/koic
+[@drenmi]: https://github.com/drenmi
+[@pawptart]: https://github.com/pawptart