diff --git a/src/qemu_conf.c b/src/qemu_conf.c
index 6b0b404..99715b7 100644
--- a/src/qemu_conf.c
+++ b/src/qemu_conf.c
@@ -870,11 +870,15 @@ int qemudParseHelpStr(const char *help,
         *is_kvm = 1;
         p += strlen(KVM_VER_PREFIX);
 
-        ret = virParseNumber(&p);
-        if (ret == -1)
-            goto fail;
+        if (strncmp(p, "devel", 5) == 0) {
+            *kvm_version = 1000;
+        } else {
+            ret = virParseNumber(&p);
+            if (ret == -1)
+                goto fail;
 
-        *kvm_version = ret;
+            *kvm_version = ret;
+        }
     }
 
     *version = (major * 1000 * 1000) + (minor * 1000) + micro;