diff --git a/.release-please-manifest.json b/.release-please-manifest.json
index 56ad184..fb27f0c 100644
--- a/.release-please-manifest.json
+++ b/.release-please-manifest.json
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 {
-    ".": "0.5.0-alpha"
+    ".": "0.6.0-alpha"
 }
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 57e125c..10eea37 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,42 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [0.6.0-alpha](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/compare/v0.5.0-alpha...v0.6.0-alpha) (2026-11-05)
+
+
+### ⚠ BREAKING CHANGES
+
+* update flagd-core to the latest major ([#46](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/issues/46))
+
+### ✨ New Features
+
+* base provider state on CDN fetches only, not SSE connection state ([#44](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/issues/44)) ([dd3b485](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/commit/dd3b485e3a7d51ddeb1d7d2d6fd1f1d3d1effe1c))
+* sse test case implementation (ref: AI-724) ([#36](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/issues/36)) ([50bf529](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/commit/50bf529b735df64104d32fc28815d75696baf5f7))
+* update flagd-core to the latest major ([#46](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/issues/46)) ([f99f37d](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/commit/f99f37d25c4db5af4be123cff913c5a869b98b99))
+
+
+### 🐛 Bug Fixes
+
+* bound fetch duration and enforce single-flight CDN fetches ([#37](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/issues/37)) ([ef0673d](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/commit/ef0673dd7082ff4f887efc8245d2fcbdaaa12000))
+* **deps:** bump jackson-databind to 2.22.4 (ref: ICP-11215) ([#48](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/issues/48)) ([671da25](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/commit/671da25273ddbb69e56c8f5df6afa9a323a89388))
+* use a 150s read timeout for the SSE connection ([#45](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/issues/45)) ([b5fc05d](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/commit/b5fc05dc1b01c7519fa2064baaa2c4c8b5702e53))
+
+
+### 🧹 Chore
+
+* **deps:** bump com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind from 2.22.1 to 2.22.3 ([#41](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/issues/41)) ([1c2a1a6](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/commit/1c2a1a6310d416133d93acd8374bbc3fc267ccb7))
+* **deps:** bump local-demo provider pin to 0.5.0-alpha ([#32](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/issues/32)) ([abf97a5](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/commit/abf97a5e96165473ad3fb55d411dc769f7066aee))
+* update the metrics url for LocalDemo.java NOISSUE ([#34](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/issues/34)) ([b340003](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/commit/b3400034deec7470b53b826a716fef382a2cf01c))
+
+
+### 📚 Documentation
+
+* align README with the standard provider format ([#35](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/issues/35)) ([2c74f36](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/commit/2c74f3686f8475f365a52142f21370b429cb717f))
+
+
+### 🔄 Refactoring
+
+* rename triggerSseRefetch to requestOutOfBandFetch ([#43](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/issues/43)) ([29b5519](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/commit/29b55197db73099cb0120f2a15f6ac494e505bdf))
+
 ## [0.5.0-alpha](https://github.com/Dynatrace/openfeature-provider-java/compare/v0.4.4-alpha...v0.5.0-alpha) (2026-08-27)
 
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b9ec780..702b0dc 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -12,12 +12,12 @@ The provider evaluates flags in-process: on initialization it fetches your flag
 <dependency>
   <groupId>com.dynatrace.openfeature</groupId>
   <artifactId>dynatrace-openfeature-provider-java</artifactId>
-  <version>0.5.0-alpha</version> <!-- x-release-please-version -->
+  <version>0.6.0-alpha</version> <!-- x-release-please-version -->
 </dependency>
 ```
 
 ```groovy
-implementation 'com.dynatrace.openfeature:dynatrace-openfeature-provider-java:0.5.0-alpha' // x-release-please-version
+implementation 'com.dynatrace.openfeature:dynatrace-openfeature-provider-java:0.6.0-alpha' // x-release-please-version
 ```
 
 ## Usage
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index c8e9130..d62ea96 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
     <groupId>com.dynatrace.openfeature</groupId>
     <artifactId>dynatrace-openfeature-provider-java</artifactId>
-    <version>0.5.0-alpha</version> <!--x-release-please-version -->
+    <version>0.6.0-alpha</version> <!--x-release-please-version -->
     <packaging>jar</packaging>
 
     <name>Dynatrace OpenFeature Provider for Java</name>
diff --git a/version.txt b/version.txt
index 1efec57..6689d76 100644
--- a/version.txt
+++ b/version.txt
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.5.0-alpha
+0.6.0-alpha