diff --git a/remi/__init__.py b/remi/__init__.py
index 74378e4f..77b27cf8 100644
--- a/remi/__init__.py
+++ b/remi/__init__.py
@@ -31,10 +31,33 @@
 )
 
 from .server import App, Server, start
-from pkg_resources import get_distribution, DistributionNotFound
 
+# importlib.metadata is available in Python 3.8+
+useForVersionCheck = None
 try:
-    __version__ = get_distribution(__name__).version
-except DistributionNotFound:
-    # package is not installed
-    pass
+    import importlib.metadata
+    useForVersionCheck = "importlib.metadata"
+except ImportError:
+    try:
+        import pkg_resources
+        useForVersionCheck = "pkg_resources"
+    except ImportError:
+        pass
+
+if useForVersionCheck == "importlib.metadata":
+    from importlib.metadata import version, PackageNotFoundError
+    try:
+        __version__ = version(__name__)
+    except PackageNotFoundError:
+        # package is not installed
+        pass
+elif useForVersionCheck == "pkg_resources":
+    from pkg_resources import get_distribution, DistributionNotFound
+    try:
+        __version__ = get_distribution(__name__).version
+    except DistributionNotFound:
+        # package is not installed
+        pass
+else:
+    # neither importlib.metadata nor pkg_resources is available
+    print("WARNING: cannot check remi version, please install importlib-metadata (python >= 3.8) or the pkg_resources module by installing setuptools")
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index ffcda9aa..259647d8 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -27,5 +27,5 @@
 except:
     del params['setup_requires']
     params['use_scm_version'] = False
-    params['version'] = '2022.7.27'
+    params['version'] = '2026.02.04'
     setup(**params)