diff --git a/docs/release-notes.md b/docs/release-notes.md
index 4e2d7cab..2783ebc2 100644
--- a/docs/release-notes.md
+++ b/docs/release-notes.md
@@ -48,9 +48,12 @@
   * Fixed `Context.IsPlayerFree` being true before the player finishes transitioning to a new location in multiplayer.
   * Suppressed the game's 'added crickets' debug output.
   * Updated dependencies (Harmony 1.0.9.1 → 1.2.0.1, Mono.Cecil 0.10 → 0.10.1).
-  * **Deprecation:** non-string manifest versions are now deprecated and will no longer work in SMAPI 3.0.
-  * **Breaking change:** `helper.ModRegistry` now returns `IModInfo` instead of `IManifest` directly. This lets SMAPI return more metadata about mods.
-  * **Breaking change:** most SMAPI files have been moved into a `smapi-internal` subfolder. This won't affect compiled mod releases, but you'll need to update the build config NuGet package.
+  * **Deprecations:**
+    * Non-string manifest versions are now deprecated and will no longer work in SMAPI 3.0. Affected mods should be updated to use a string version, like `"Version": "1.0.0"`.
+    * `ISemanticVersion.Build` is now deprecated and will be removed in SMAPI 3.0. Affected mods should use `ISemanticVersion.PrereleaseTag` instead.
+  * **Breaking changes:**
+    * `helper.ModRegistry` now returns `IModInfo` instead of `IManifest` directly. This lets SMAPI return more metadata about mods.
+    * Most SMAPI files have been moved into a `smapi-internal` subfolder. This won't affect compiled mod releases, but you'll need to update the build config NuGet package.
 
 * For SMAPI developers:
   * Added support for parallel stable/beta unofficial updates in update checks.
diff --git a/src/SMAPI/Framework/SCore.cs b/src/SMAPI/Framework/SCore.cs
index 6cb564ce..7567c6db 100644
--- a/src/SMAPI/Framework/SCore.cs
+++ b/src/SMAPI/Framework/SCore.cs
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ namespace StardewModdingAPI.Framework
 
         /// <summary>Manages deprecation warnings.</summary>
         /// <remarks>This is initialised after the game starts.</remarks>
-        private DeprecationManager DeprecationManager;
+        private readonly DeprecationManager DeprecationManager;
 
         /// <summary>Manages SMAPI events for mods.</summary>
         private readonly EventManager EventManager;
@@ -134,6 +134,10 @@ namespace StardewModdingAPI.Framework
             };
             this.MonitorForGame = this.GetSecondaryMonitor("game");
             this.EventManager = new EventManager(this.Monitor, this.ModRegistry);
+            this.DeprecationManager = new DeprecationManager(this.Monitor, this.ModRegistry);
+
+            // inject deprecation managers
+            SemanticVersion.DeprecationManager = this.DeprecationManager;
 
             // init logging
             this.Monitor.Log($"SMAPI {Constants.ApiVersion} with Stardew Valley {Constants.GameVersion} on {EnvironmentUtility.GetFriendlyPlatformName(Constants.Platform)}", LogLevel.Info);
@@ -340,9 +344,6 @@ namespace StardewModdingAPI.Framework
         /// <summary>Initialise SMAPI and mods after the game starts.</summary>
         private void InitialiseAfterGameStart()
         {
-            // load core components
-            this.DeprecationManager = new DeprecationManager(this.Monitor, this.ModRegistry);
-
             // redirect direct console output
             if (this.MonitorForGame.WriteToConsole)
                 this.ConsoleManager.OnMessageIntercepted += message => this.HandleConsoleMessage(this.MonitorForGame, message);
diff --git a/src/SMAPI/SemanticVersion.cs b/src/SMAPI/SemanticVersion.cs
index a65afeb8..401f62c2 100644
--- a/src/SMAPI/SemanticVersion.cs
+++ b/src/SMAPI/SemanticVersion.cs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 using System;
 using Newtonsoft.Json;
+using StardewModdingAPI.Framework;
 
 namespace StardewModdingAPI
 {
@@ -12,6 +13,9 @@ namespace StardewModdingAPI
         /// <summary>The underlying semantic version implementation.</summary>
         private readonly ISemanticVersion Version;
 
+        /// <summary>Manages deprecation warnings.</summary>
+        internal static DeprecationManager DeprecationManager { get; set; }
+
 
         /*********
         ** Accessors
@@ -26,7 +30,18 @@ namespace StardewModdingAPI
         public int PatchVersion => this.Version.PatchVersion;
 
         /// <summary>An optional build tag.</summary>
-        public string Build => this.Version.Build;
+        [Obsolete("Use " + nameof(ISemanticVersion.PrereleaseTag) + " instead")]
+        public string Build
+        {
+            get
+            {
+                SemanticVersion.DeprecationManager?.Warn($"{nameof(ISemanticVersion)}.{nameof(ISemanticVersion.Build)}", "2.8", DeprecationLevel.Notice);
+                return this.Version.PrereleaseTag;
+            }
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>An optional prerelease tag.</summary>
+        public string PrereleaseTag => this.Version.PrereleaseTag;
 
 
         /*********
diff --git a/src/StardewModdingAPI.Toolkit.CoreInterfaces/ISemanticVersion.cs b/src/StardewModdingAPI.Toolkit.CoreInterfaces/ISemanticVersion.cs
index 961ef777..6631b01d 100644
--- a/src/StardewModdingAPI.Toolkit.CoreInterfaces/ISemanticVersion.cs
+++ b/src/StardewModdingAPI.Toolkit.CoreInterfaces/ISemanticVersion.cs
@@ -18,8 +18,12 @@ namespace StardewModdingAPI
         int PatchVersion { get; }
 
         /// <summary>An optional build tag.</summary>
+        [Obsolete("Use " + nameof(ISemanticVersion.PrereleaseTag) + " instead")]
         string Build { get; }
 
+        /// <summary>An optional prerelease tag.</summary>
+        string PrereleaseTag { get; }
+
 
         /*********
         ** Accessors
diff --git a/src/StardewModdingAPI.Toolkit/SemanticVersion.cs b/src/StardewModdingAPI.Toolkit/SemanticVersion.cs
index de33df2f..a7990d13 100644
--- a/src/StardewModdingAPI.Toolkit/SemanticVersion.cs
+++ b/src/StardewModdingAPI.Toolkit/SemanticVersion.cs
@@ -40,7 +40,11 @@ namespace StardewModdingAPI.Toolkit
         public int PatchVersion { get; }
 
         /// <summary>An optional prerelease tag.</summary>
-        public string Build { get; }
+        [Obsolete("Use " + nameof(ISemanticVersion.PrereleaseTag) + " instead")]
+        public string Build => this.PrereleaseTag;
+
+        /// <summary>An optional prerelease tag.</summary>
+        public string PrereleaseTag { get; }
 
         /// <summary>Whether the version was parsed from the legacy object format.</summary>
         public bool IsLegacyFormat { get; }
@@ -60,7 +64,7 @@ namespace StardewModdingAPI.Toolkit
             this.MajorVersion = major;
             this.MinorVersion = minor;
             this.PatchVersion = patch;
-            this.Build = this.GetNormalisedTag(tag);
+            this.PrereleaseTag = this.GetNormalisedTag(tag);
             this.IsLegacyFormat = isLegacyFormat;
 
             this.AssertValid();
@@ -98,7 +102,7 @@ namespace StardewModdingAPI.Toolkit
             this.MajorVersion = int.Parse(match.Groups["major"].Value);
             this.MinorVersion = match.Groups["minor"].Success ? int.Parse(match.Groups["minor"].Value) : 0;
             this.PatchVersion = match.Groups["patch"].Success ? int.Parse(match.Groups["patch"].Value) : 0;
-            this.Build = match.Groups["prerelease"].Success ? this.GetNormalisedTag(match.Groups["prerelease"].Value) : null;
+            this.PrereleaseTag = match.Groups["prerelease"].Success ? this.GetNormalisedTag(match.Groups["prerelease"].Value) : null;
 
             this.AssertValid();
         }