diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/Banner.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/Banner.scala
index 35f94bc80..b43f811ad 100644
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/Banner.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/Banner.scala
@@ -10,6 +10,15 @@ package sbt.internal
 private[sbt] object Banner {
   def apply(version: String): Option[String] =
     version match {
+      case v if v.startsWith("1.6.0") =>
+        Some(s"""
+                |Here are some highlights of this release:
+                |  - Improved JDK 17 support
+                |  - Improved Build Server Protocol (BSP) support
+                |  - Tab completion of global keys
+                |See https://eed3si9n.com/sbt-1.6.0-beta for full release notes.
+                |Hide the banner for this release by running `skipBanner`.
+                |""".stripMargin.linesIterator.mkString("\n"))
       case v if v.startsWith("1.4.0") =>
         Some(s"""
                 |Here are some highlights of this release:
diff --git a/project/Dependencies.scala b/project/Dependencies.scala
index a9451c2ab..34650e71a 100644
--- a/project/Dependencies.scala
+++ b/project/Dependencies.scala
@@ -12,10 +12,10 @@ object Dependencies {
     sys.env.get("BUILD_VERSION") orElse sys.props.get("sbt.build.version")
 
   // sbt modules
-  private val ioVersion = nightlyVersion.getOrElse("1.6.0-M1")
+  private val ioVersion = nightlyVersion.getOrElse("1.6.0-M2")
   private val lmVersion =
-    sys.props.get("sbt.build.lm.version").orElse(nightlyVersion).getOrElse("1.6.0-M1")
-  val zincVersion = nightlyVersion.getOrElse("1.6.0-M1")
+    sys.props.get("sbt.build.lm.version").orElse(nightlyVersion).getOrElse("1.6.0-M2")
+  val zincVersion = nightlyVersion.getOrElse("1.6.0-M2")
 
   private val sbtIO = "org.scala-sbt" %% "io" % ioVersion