diff --git a/scripts/release.js b/scripts/release.js
index 0ea5c9247..9bdd8d9b0 100644
--- a/scripts/release.js
+++ b/scripts/release.js
@@ -184,10 +184,10 @@ async function publishPackage(pkgName, version, runIfNotDry) {
 
   // for now (alpha/beta phase), every package except "vue" can be published as
   // `latest`, whereas "vue" will be published under the "next" tag.
-  const releaseTag = pkgName === 'vue' ? 'next' : 'latest'
+  const releaseTag = pkgName === 'vue' ? 'next' : null
 
   // TODO use inferred release channel after official 3.0 release
-  // const releaseTag = semver.prerelease(version)[0] || 'latest'
+  // const releaseTag = semver.prerelease(version)[0] || null
 
   step(`Publishing ${pkgName}...`)
   try {
@@ -197,8 +197,7 @@ async function publishPackage(pkgName, version, runIfNotDry) {
         'publish',
         '--new-version',
         version,
-        '--tag',
-        releaseTag,
+        ...(releaseTag ? ['--tag', releaseTag] : []),
         '--access',
         'public'
       ],