diff --git a/.release-please-manifest.json b/.release-please-manifest.json
index cf7239890..656a2ef17 100644
--- a/.release-please-manifest.json
+++ b/.release-please-manifest.json
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 {
-  ".": "2.0.1"
+  ".": "2.1.0"
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d93184f46..6a877a5be 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,18 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [2.1.0](https://github.com/microsoft/OpenAPI.NET/compare/v2.0.1...v2.1.0) (2025-08-20)
+
+
+### Features
+
+* adds a default validation rule for unresolved references ([90b3966](https://github.com/microsoft/OpenAPI.NET/commit/90b3966e5e071e26570050733482660f41f944b0))
+
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+* Improve OpenApiWalker performance ([a007c03](https://github.com/microsoft/OpenAPI.NET/commit/a007c039eb2a9190d4adeafd865f6d42df4221aa))
+* Validate schema property is not null ([3326022](https://github.com/microsoft/OpenAPI.NET/commit/3326022b016fd3fc795f45926a55895b02557a09))
+
 ## [2.0.1](https://github.com/microsoft/openapi.net/compare/v2.0.0...v2.0.1) (2025-08-18)
 
 
diff --git a/Directory.Build.props b/Directory.Build.props
index 7d3692ed2..5b7324dd7 100644
--- a/Directory.Build.props
+++ b/Directory.Build.props
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
     <PackageProjectUrl>https://github.com/Microsoft/OpenAPI.NET</PackageProjectUrl>
     <Copyright>© Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.</Copyright>
     <PackageTags>OpenAPI .NET</PackageTags>
-    <Version>2.0.1</Version>
+    <Version>2.1.0</Version>
   </PropertyGroup>
   <!-- https://github.com/clairernovotny/DeterministicBuilds#deterministic-builds -->
   <PropertyGroup Condition="'$(TF_BUILD)' == 'true'">