Microsoft released the latest general availability (GA) version of .NET with .NET 6 yesterday at the .NET Conf 2021 virtual event. Alongside it, the company also launched Visual Studio 2022. You can read about the announcements in more detail here.
The advent of .NET 6 also means that it"s a good time to remind our readers and developers alike that the .NET 5 platform will reach its End of Support in six months" time on May 8, 2022. That"s because .NET 5 does not feature a Long Term Support (LTS) support level and hence is limited to 18-month support only as offered by the "Current" support level for .NET versions. The .NET 5 framework became GA in November last year which means the 18-month support period is ending in May next year.
Thankfully, things are different with .NET 6 as the latest framework features the three-year LTS support level, unlike .NET 5, which means it will be receiving important updates all the way till November 8, 2024.
As a side note, the .NET 6 preview releases RC 1 and RC 2 have also reached End of Support on October 8, 2021 and November 9, 2021, respectively, since the GA version is already out.
You may find more details on Microsoft"s official support page here.