diff --git a/lib/utils/template_generator.js b/lib/utils/template_generator.js
index 85582be2..2d884c05 100644
--- a/lib/utils/template_generator.js
+++ b/lib/utils/template_generator.js
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 let fs = require('../core/fs.js');
 let hostedGitInfo = require('hosted-git-info');
 let utils = require('./utils.js');
+let semver = require('semver');
 
 class TemplateGenerator {
   constructor(templateName) {
@@ -104,6 +105,10 @@ class TemplateGenerator {
     hgi = hostedGitInfo.fromUrl(uri);
     if (!hgi || hgi.user.includes('#')) {
       let templateAndBranch = uri.split('#');
+      if (templateAndBranch.length === 1) {
+        let embarkVersion = semver(require('../../package.json').version);
+        templateAndBranch.push(`${embarkVersion.major}.${embarkVersion.minor}`);
+      }
       templateAndBranch[0] = `embark-framework/embark-${templateAndBranch[0]}-template`;
       hgi = hostedGitInfo.fromUrl(templateAndBranch.join('#'));
     }