diff --git a/.nuget/directxtk12_desktop_2019.nuspec b/.nuget/directxtk12_desktop_2019.nuspec
index ed8577c6..50d84563 100644
--- a/.nuget/directxtk12_desktop_2019.nuspec
+++ b/.nuget/directxtk12_desktop_2019.nuspec
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ SpriteBatch - simple & efficient 2D sprite rendering
 SpriteFont - bitmap based text rendering
 VertexTypes - structures for commonly used vertex data formats
 WICTextureLoader - WIC-based image file texture loader</description>
-        <releaseNotes>Matches the June 4, 2024 release on GitHub.</releaseNotes>
+        <releaseNotes>Matches the September 4, 2024 release on GitHub.</releaseNotes>
         <projectUrl>http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=615561</projectUrl>
         <repository type="git" url="https://github.com/microsoft/DirectXTK12.git" />
         <icon>images\icon.jpg</icon>
diff --git a/.nuget/directxtk12_uwp.nuspec b/.nuget/directxtk12_uwp.nuspec
index 18d302ba..f523c590 100644
--- a/.nuget/directxtk12_uwp.nuspec
+++ b/.nuget/directxtk12_uwp.nuspec
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ SpriteBatch - simple &amp; efficient 2D sprite rendering
 SpriteFont - bitmap based text rendering
 VertexTypes - structures for commonly used vertex data formats
 WICTextureLoader - WIC-based image file texture loader</description>
-        <releaseNotes>Matches the June 4, 2024 release on GitHub.</releaseNotes>
+        <releaseNotes>Matches the September 4, 2024 release on GitHub.</releaseNotes>
         <projectUrl>http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=615561</projectUrl>
         <repository type="git" url="https://github.com/microsoft/DirectXTK12.git" />
         <icon>images\icon.jpg</icon>
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d2f6eeef..f8258e0c 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,15 @@ Release available for download on [GitHub](https://github.com/microsoft/DirectXT
 
 ## Release History
 
+### September 4, 2024
+* HLSL shaders built with `-HV 2021` when using DXIL
+* *DirectX Tool Kit for Audio* update
+  * Add ``IsValid`` method to **AudioEmitter** and **AudioListener**
+* Sync'd DDS.H with latest changes from DirectXTex
+* CMake project updates including support for ARM64EC
+* Minor code review
+* Added GitHub Actions YAML files
+
 ### June 4, 2024
 * *breaking change* `CreateUploadBuffer` helper no longer takes initialState parameter as it must be a specific value
 * Renamed Internal namespace to ToolKitInternal for some conformance issues
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index ed24cc50..01f07e14 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 cmake_minimum_required (VERSION 3.20)
 
-set(DIRECTXTK12_VERSION 1.5.9)
+set(DIRECTXTK12_VERSION 1.6.0)
 
 if(WINDOWS_STORE OR (DEFINED XBOX_CONSOLE_TARGET))
   set(CMAKE_TRY_COMPILE_TARGET_TYPE "STATIC_LIBRARY")
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c508f2b3..c2b924c5 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=615561
 
 Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 
-**June 4, 2024**
+**September 4, 2024**
 
 This package contains the "DirectX Tool Kit", a collection of helper classes for writing Direct3D 12 C++ code for Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps for Windows 11 and Windows 10, game titles for Xbox Series X\|S and Xbox One, and Win32 desktop applications for Windows 11 and Windows 10.
 
diff --git a/build/Directory.Build.props b/build/Directory.Build.props
index 35bb4c57..43baa29f 100644
--- a/build/Directory.Build.props
+++ b/build/Directory.Build.props
@@ -1,6 +1,11 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
 <Project ToolsVersion="4.0" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
 
+  <!--
+      Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
+      Licensed under the MIT License.
+  -->
+
   <PropertyGroup>
     <ExtractedFolder Condition="'$(ExtractedFolder)'==''">C:\xtracted\</ExtractedFolder>
     <ExtractedFolder Condition="!HasTrailingSlash('$(ExtractedFolder)')">$(ExtractedFolder)\</ExtractedFolder>
diff --git a/build/onefuzz-setup.ps1 b/build/onefuzz-setup.ps1
index 7c1c75a7..6e68c53d 100644
--- a/build/onefuzz-setup.ps1
+++ b/build/onefuzz-setup.ps1
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+<#
+Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
+Licensed under the MIT License.
+#>
+
 function Execute-Setup {
     # Temporary work-around while OneFuzz does not run script from setup dir
     Set-Location -Path $PSScriptRoot
diff --git a/build/preparerelease.ps1 b/build/preparerelease.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..18d46f22
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build/preparerelease.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+<#
+
+.NOTES
+Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
+Licensed under the MIT License.
+
+.SYNOPSIS
+Prepares a PR for release
+
+.DESCRIPTION
+This script is used to do the edits required for preparing a release PR.
+
+.PARAMETER BaseBranch
+This the branch to use as the base of the release. Defaults to 'main'.
+
+.PARAMETER TargetBranch
+This is the name of the newly created branch for the release PR. Defaults to '<DATETAG>release'. If set to 'none', then no branch is created.
+
+.PARAMETER UpdateVersion
+This is a $true or $false value that indicates if the library version number should be incremented. Defaults to $true.
+
+.LINK
+https://github.com/microsoft/DirectXTK12/wiki
+
+#>
+
+param(
+    [string]$BaseBranch = "main",
+    [string]$TargetBranch = $null,
+    [bool]$UpdateVersion = $true
+)
+
+$reporoot = Split-Path -Path $PSScriptRoot -Parent
+$cmake = $reporoot + "\CMakeLists.txt"
+$readme = $reporoot + "\README.md"
+$history = $reporoot + "\CHANGELOG.md"
+
+if ((-Not (Test-Path $cmake)) -Or (-Not (Test-Path $readme)) -Or (-Not (Test-Path $history))) {
+    Write-Error "ERROR: Unexpected location of script file!" -ErrorAction Stop
+}
+
+$branch = git branch --show-current
+if ($branch -ne $BaseBranch) {
+    Write-Error "ERROR: Must be in the $BaseBranch branch!" -ErrorAction Stop
+}
+
+git pull -q
+if ($LastExitCode -ne 0) {
+    Write-Error "ERROR: Failed to sync branch!" -ErrorAction Stop
+}
+
+$version = Get-Content ($cmake) | Select-String -Pattern "set\(DIRECTXTK12_VERSION" -CaseSensitive
+if (-Not ($version -match "([0-9]?\.[0-9]?\.[0-9]?)")) {
+    Write-Error "ERROR: Failed to current version!" -ErrorAction Stop
+}
+$version = $Matches.0
+$rawversion = $version.replace('.','')
+
+$newreleasedate = Get-Date -Format "MMMM d, yyyy"
+$newreleasetag = (Get-Date -Format "MMMyyyy").ToLower()
+
+if($UpdateVersion) {
+    [string]$newrawversion = ([int]$rawversion + 1)
+}
+else {
+    $newrawversion = $rawversion
+}
+
+$newversion = $newrawversion[0] + "." + $newrawversion[1] + "." + $newrawversion[2]
+
+$rawreleasedate = $(Get-Content $readme) | Select-String -Pattern "\*\*[A-Z][a-z]+\S.\d+,?\S.\d\d\d\d\*\*"
+if ([string]::IsNullOrEmpty($rawreleasedate)) {
+    Write-Error "ERROR: Failed to current release date!" -ErrorAction Stop
+}
+$releasedate = $rawreleasedate -replace '\*',''
+
+if($releasedate -eq $newreleasedate) {
+    Write-Error ("ERROR: Release "+$releasedate+" already exists!") -ErrorAction Stop
+}
+
+if ($TargetBranch -ne 'none') {
+    if ([string]::IsNullOrEmpty($TargetBranch)) {
+        $TargetBranch = $newreleasetag + "release"
+    }
+
+    git checkout -b $TargetBranch
+    if ($LastExitCode -ne 0) {
+        Write-Error "ERROR: Failed to create new topic branch!" -ErrorAction Stop
+    }
+}
+
+Write-Host "     Old Version: " $version
+Write-Host "Old Release Date: " $releasedate
+Write-Host "->"
+Write-Host "    Release Date: " $newreleasedate
+Write-Host "     Release Tag: " $newreleasetag
+Write-Host " Release Version: " $newversion
+
+if($UpdateVersion) {
+    (Get-Content $cmake).Replace("set(DIRECTXTK12_VERSION $version)","set(DIRECTXTK12_VERSION $newversion)") | Set-Content $cmake
+}
+
+(Get-Content $readme).Replace("$rawreleasedate", "**$newreleasedate**") | Set-Content $readme
+
+Get-ChildItem -Path ($reporoot + "\.nuget") -Filter *.nuspec | Foreach-Object {
+    (Get-Content -Path $_.Fullname).Replace("$releasedate", "$newreleasedate") | Set-Content -Path $_.Fullname -Encoding utf8
+    }
+
+[System.Collections.ArrayList]$file = Get-Content $history
+$inserthere = @()
+
+for ($i=0; $i -lt $file.count; $i++) {
+    if ($file[$i] -match "## Release History") {
+        $inserthere += $i + 1
+    }
+}
+
+$file.insert($inserthere[0], "`n### $newreleasedate`n* change history here")
+Set-Content -Path $history -Value $file
+
+code $history $readme
+if ($LastExitCode -ne 0) {
+    Write-Error "ERROR: Failed to launch VS Code!" -ErrorAction Stop
+}