diff --git a/build/scripts/sdk-update-version/main.go b/build/scripts/sdk-update-version/main.go
index cada3daebf..a9e9f93d3c 100644
--- a/build/scripts/sdk-update-version/main.go
+++ b/build/scripts/sdk-update-version/main.go
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ func main() {
 	log.Printf("Version: %s", version)
 
 	files := []string{
+		"build/Makefile",
 		"install/helm/agones/Chart.yaml",
 		"install/yaml/install.yaml",
 		"install/helm/agones/values.yaml",
@@ -87,14 +88,18 @@ func UpdateFile(filename string, version string) error {
 			content = re.ReplaceAllString(content, "${1}")
 		}
 	case "after":
-		if ext == ".json" {
+		if ext != ".json" {
+			re := regexp.MustCompile(regexp.QuoteMeta(version))
+			newVersion := incrementVersionAfterRelease(version)
+			if filename == "build/Makefile" {
+				content = re.ReplaceAllString(content, newVersion)
+			} else {
+				content = re.ReplaceAllString(content, newVersion+"-dev")
+			}
+		} else {
 			re := regexp.MustCompile(`"` + regexp.QuoteMeta(version) + `"`)
 			newVersion := incrementVersionAfterRelease(version) + "-dev"
 			content = re.ReplaceAllString(content, `"`+newVersion+`"`)
-		} else {
-			re := regexp.MustCompile(regexp.QuoteMeta(version))
-			newVersion := incrementVersionAfterRelease(version)
-			content = re.ReplaceAllString(content, newVersion+"-dev")
 		}
 	default:
 		log.Fatalf("Invalid release stage. Please specify 'before' or 'after'.")
diff --git a/build/scripts/site-config-update-version/main.go b/build/scripts/site-config-update-version/main.go
index 3cff9fe64e..d553f893f6 100644
--- a/build/scripts/site-config-update-version/main.go
+++ b/build/scripts/site-config-update-version/main.go
@@ -190,10 +190,18 @@ func writeLinesToFile(filePath string, lines []string) error {
 	writer := bufio.NewWriter(file)
 
 	// Write the lines to the file
-	for _, line := range lines {
-		_, err := writer.WriteString(line + "\n")
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
+	for i, line := range lines {
+		// Avoid adding a new line at the end of the file
+		if i < len(lines)-1 {
+			_, err := writer.WriteString(line + "\n")
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+		} else {
+			_, err := writer.WriteString(line)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/docs/governance/templates/release_issue.md b/docs/governance/templates/release_issue.md
index 314c08a673..90e8e54117 100644
--- a/docs/governance/templates/release_issue.md
+++ b/docs/governance/templates/release_issue.md
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@ and copy it into a release issue. Fill in relevant values, found inside {}
 
 - [ ] Run `make shell` and run `gcloud config configurations activate agones-images`.
 - [ ] Review merged PRs in the current milestone to ensure that they have appropriate tags.
-- [ ] Ensure the next stable releases in the Google Calendar have the correct version number.
 - [ ] `git checkout main && git pull --rebase upstream main`
 - [ ] Run `make pre-build-release` to ensure all example images exist on agones-images/examples repository and to deploy the {version}-1 service on GCP/App Engine/Services.
 - [ ] Run `make sdk-update-version release_stage=before version={version}` file. This command will update the version number in the sdks/install files to {version}.
@@ -63,7 +62,6 @@ and copy it into a release issue. Fill in relevant values, found inside {}
 - [ ] Paste the announcement blog post to the #users Slack group.
 - [ ] Post to the [agonesdev](https://twitter.com/agonesdev) Twitter account.
 - [ ] Run `git checkout main`.
-- [ ] Then increment the `base_version` in [`build/Makefile`][build-makefile]
 - [ ] Run `make sdk-update-version release_stage=after version={version}` file. This command will update the version number in the sdks/install files to {version}+1-dev.
 - [ ] Create PR with these changes, and merge them with approval
 - [ ] Close this issue. _Congratulations!_ - the release is now complete! :tada: :clap: :smile: :+1: