diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 6accfc7506b4..e64f6deb6310 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,9 +1,5 @@
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16)
-
-if (NOT DEFINED Halide_VERSION)
-    set(Halide_VERSION 12.0.0)
-endif ()
-project(Halide VERSION ${Halide_VERSION})
+project(Halide VERSION 12.0.0)
 
 enable_testing()