diff --git a/gr8-plugin-common/src/main/kotlin/com/gradleup/gr8/Gr8Configurator.kt b/gr8-plugin-common/src/main/kotlin/com/gradleup/gr8/Gr8Configurator.kt
index c26d796..887406d 100644
--- a/gr8-plugin-common/src/main/kotlin/com/gradleup/gr8/Gr8Configurator.kt
+++ b/gr8-plugin-common/src/main/kotlin/com/gradleup/gr8/Gr8Configurator.kt
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ open class Gr8Configurator(
   private val proguardFiles = project.objects.fileCollection()
   private var classPathJars = project.objects.fileCollection()
 
-  val defaultR8Version = "8.5.35"
+  val defaultR8Version = "8.7.18"
 
   private var r8Version_: String = defaultR8Version