diff --git a/1.16-rc/alpine3.12/Dockerfile b/1.16-rc/alpine3.12/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bcb89340
--- /dev/null
+++ b/1.16-rc/alpine3.12/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+#
+# NOTE: THIS DOCKERFILE IS GENERATED VIA "apply-templates.sh"
+#
+# PLEASE DO NOT EDIT IT DIRECTLY.
+#
+
+FROM alpine:3.12
+
+RUN apk add --no-cache \
+		ca-certificates
+
+# set up nsswitch.conf for Go's "netgo" implementation
+# - https://github.com/golang/go/blob/go1.9.1/src/net/conf.go#L194-L275
+# - docker run --rm debian:stretch grep '^hosts:' /etc/nsswitch.conf
+RUN [ ! -e /etc/nsswitch.conf ] && echo 'hosts: files dns' > /etc/nsswitch.conf
+
+ENV PATH /usr/local/go/bin:$PATH
+
+ENV GOLANG_VERSION 1.16beta1
+
+RUN set -eux; \
+	apk add --no-cache --virtual .build-deps \
+		bash \
+		gcc \
+		gnupg \
+		go \
+		musl-dev \
+		openssl \
+	; \
+	export \
+# set GOROOT_BOOTSTRAP such that we can actually build Go
+		GOROOT_BOOTSTRAP="$(go env GOROOT)" \
+# ... and set "cross-building" related vars to the installed system's values so that we create a build targeting the proper arch
+# (for example, if our build host is GOARCH=amd64, but our build env/image is GOARCH=386, our build needs GOARCH=386)
+		GOOS="$(go env GOOS)" \
+		GOARCH="$(go env GOARCH)" \
+		GOHOSTOS="$(go env GOHOSTOS)" \
+		GOHOSTARCH="$(go env GOHOSTARCH)" \
+	; \
+# also explicitly set GO386 and GOARM if appropriate
+# https://github.com/docker-library/golang/issues/184
+	apkArch="$(apk --print-arch)"; \
+	case "$apkArch" in \
+		armhf) export GOARM='6' ;; \
+		armv7) export GOARM='7' ;; \
+		x86) export GO386='387' ;; \
+	esac; \
+	\
+# https://github.com/golang/go/issues/38536#issuecomment-616897960
+	url='https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.src.tar.gz'; \
+	sha256='48e032c8cf71af4dc8119a29ee829c4fbd5265e32fd012564d4a70bb207695c1'; \
+	\
+	wget -O go.tgz.asc "$url.asc"; \
+	wget -O go.tgz "$url"; \
+	echo "$sha256 *go.tgz" | sha256sum -c -; \
+	\
+# https://github.com/golang/go/issues/14739#issuecomment-324767697
+	export GNUPGHOME="$(mktemp -d)"; \
+# https://www.google.com/linuxrepositories/
+	gpg --batch --keyserver ha.pool.sks-keyservers.net --recv-keys 'EB4C 1BFD 4F04 2F6D DDCC EC91 7721 F63B D38B 4796'; \
+	gpg --batch --verify go.tgz.asc go.tgz; \
+	gpgconf --kill all; \
+	rm -rf "$GNUPGHOME" go.tgz.asc; \
+	\
+	tar -C /usr/local -xzf go.tgz; \
+	rm go.tgz; \
+	\
+	goEnv="$(go env | sed -rn -e '/^GO(OS|ARCH|ARM|386)=/s//export \0/p')"; \
+	eval "$goEnv"; \
+	[ -n "$GOOS" ]; \
+	[ -n "$GOARCH" ]; \
+	( \
+		cd /usr/local/go/src; \
+		./make.bash; \
+	); \
+	\
+	apk del --no-network .build-deps; \
+	\
+# pre-compile the standard library, just like the official binary release tarballs do
+	go install std; \
+# go install: -race is only supported on linux/amd64, linux/ppc64le, linux/arm64, freebsd/amd64, netbsd/amd64, darwin/amd64 and windows/amd64
+#	go install -race std; \
+	\
+# remove a few intermediate / bootstrapping files the official binary release tarballs do not contain
+	rm -rf \
+		/usr/local/go/pkg/*/cmd \
+		/usr/local/go/pkg/bootstrap \
+		/usr/local/go/pkg/obj \
+		/usr/local/go/pkg/tool/*/api \
+		/usr/local/go/pkg/tool/*/go_bootstrap \
+		/usr/local/go/src/cmd/dist/dist \
+	; \
+	\
+	go version
+
+ENV GOPATH /go
+ENV PATH $GOPATH/bin:$PATH
+RUN mkdir -p "$GOPATH/src" "$GOPATH/bin" && chmod -R 777 "$GOPATH"
+WORKDIR $GOPATH
diff --git a/1.16-rc/buster/Dockerfile b/1.16-rc/buster/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..986d3c66
--- /dev/null
+++ b/1.16-rc/buster/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+#
+# NOTE: THIS DOCKERFILE IS GENERATED VIA "apply-templates.sh"
+#
+# PLEASE DO NOT EDIT IT DIRECTLY.
+#
+
+FROM buildpack-deps:buster-scm
+
+# gcc for cgo
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+		g++ \
+		gcc \
+		libc6-dev \
+		make \
+		pkg-config \
+	&& rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+ENV PATH /usr/local/go/bin:$PATH
+
+ENV GOLANG_VERSION 1.16beta1
+
+RUN set -eux; \
+	\
+	dpkgArch="$(dpkg --print-architecture)"; \
+	case "${dpkgArch##*-}" in \
+		'amd64') \
+			arch='linux-amd64'; \
+			url='https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.linux-amd64.tar.gz'; \
+			sha256='3931a0d493d411d6c697df6f15d5292fdd8031fde7014fded399effdad4c12d8'; \
+			;; \
+		'armhf') \
+			arch='linux-armv6l'; \
+			url='https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.linux-armv6l.tar.gz'; \
+			sha256='2f31ed765b328f79d58f78a433f6e59295b77da63153fc7582f8d8402c344999'; \
+			;; \
+		'arm64') \
+			arch='linux-arm64'; \
+			url='https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.linux-arm64.tar.gz'; \
+			sha256='b0f66bca136b4de8fd29645b50efa9941dc5b9eb5a67a3da837d5f8096b3431c'; \
+			;; \
+		'i386') \
+			arch='linux-386'; \
+			url='https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.linux-386.tar.gz'; \
+			sha256='d32ca50affc0de30a39b63b19a19668ce539390f3d0fa71e966b726cc28ff92e'; \
+			;; \
+		'ppc64el') \
+			arch='linux-ppc64le'; \
+			url='https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.linux-ppc64le.tar.gz'; \
+			sha256='a099e01f5a55141e5df190bd531ce090b5a00c7c6a49799b483bcbe6aa0e0eab'; \
+			;; \
+		's390x') \
+			arch='linux-s390x'; \
+			url='https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.linux-s390x.tar.gz'; \
+			sha256='eeda0f0de3fa5daa8e4aa5dc86222f4b6d4b28878e943fb75cdb3d8426844f3c'; \
+			;; \
+		*) \
+# https://github.com/golang/go/issues/38536#issuecomment-616897960
+			arch='src'; \
+			url='https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.src.tar.gz'; \
+			sha256='48e032c8cf71af4dc8119a29ee829c4fbd5265e32fd012564d4a70bb207695c1'; \
+			echo >&2; \
+			echo >&2 "warning: current architecture ($dpkgArch) does not have a corresponding Go binary release; will be building from source"; \
+			echo >&2; \
+			;; \
+	esac; \
+	\
+	wget -O go.tgz.asc "$url.asc" --progress=dot:giga; \
+	wget -O go.tgz "$url" --progress=dot:giga; \
+	echo "$sha256 *go.tgz" | sha256sum --strict --check -; \
+	\
+# https://github.com/golang/go/issues/14739#issuecomment-324767697
+	export GNUPGHOME="$(mktemp -d)"; \
+# https://www.google.com/linuxrepositories/
+	gpg --batch --keyserver ha.pool.sks-keyservers.net --recv-keys 'EB4C 1BFD 4F04 2F6D DDCC EC91 7721 F63B D38B 4796'; \
+	gpg --batch --verify go.tgz.asc go.tgz; \
+	gpgconf --kill all; \
+	rm -rf "$GNUPGHOME" go.tgz.asc; \
+	\
+	tar -C /usr/local -xzf go.tgz; \
+	rm go.tgz; \
+	\
+	if [ "$arch" = 'src' ]; then \
+		savedAptMark="$(apt-mark showmanual)"; \
+		apt-get update; \
+		apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends golang-go; \
+		\
+		goEnv="$(go env | sed -rn -e '/^GO(OS|ARCH|ARM|386)=/s//export \0/p')"; \
+		eval "$goEnv"; \
+		[ -n "$GOOS" ]; \
+		[ -n "$GOARCH" ]; \
+		( \
+			cd /usr/local/go/src; \
+			./make.bash; \
+		); \
+		\
+		apt-mark auto '.*' > /dev/null; \
+		apt-mark manual $savedAptMark > /dev/null; \
+		apt-get purge -y --auto-remove -o APT::AutoRemove::RecommendsImportant=false; \
+		rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*; \
+		\
+# pre-compile the standard library, just like the official binary release tarballs do
+		go install std; \
+# go install: -race is only supported on linux/amd64, linux/ppc64le, linux/arm64, freebsd/amd64, netbsd/amd64, darwin/amd64 and windows/amd64
+#		go install -race std; \
+		\
+# remove a few intermediate / bootstrapping files the official binary release tarballs do not contain
+		rm -rf \
+			/usr/local/go/pkg/*/cmd \
+			/usr/local/go/pkg/bootstrap \
+			/usr/local/go/pkg/obj \
+			/usr/local/go/pkg/tool/*/api \
+			/usr/local/go/pkg/tool/*/go_bootstrap \
+			/usr/local/go/src/cmd/dist/dist \
+		; \
+	fi; \
+	\
+	go version
+
+ENV GOPATH /go
+ENV PATH $GOPATH/bin:$PATH
+RUN mkdir -p "$GOPATH/src" "$GOPATH/bin" && chmod -R 777 "$GOPATH"
+WORKDIR $GOPATH
diff --git a/1.16-rc/windows/nanoserver-1809/Dockerfile b/1.16-rc/windows/nanoserver-1809/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..331de001
--- /dev/null
+++ b/1.16-rc/windows/nanoserver-1809/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+#
+# NOTE: THIS DOCKERFILE IS GENERATED VIA "apply-templates.sh"
+#
+# PLEASE DO NOT EDIT IT DIRECTLY.
+#
+
+FROM mcr.microsoft.com/windows/nanoserver:1809
+
+SHELL ["cmd", "/S", "/C"]
+
+# no Git installed (intentionally)
+#  -- Nano Server is "Windows Slim"
+
+# ideally, this would be C:\go to match Linux a bit closer, but C:\go is the recommended install path for Go itself on Windows
+ENV GOPATH C:\\gopath
+
+# PATH isn't actually set in the Docker image, so we have to set it from within the container
+USER ContainerAdministrator
+RUN setx /m PATH "%GOPATH%\bin;C:\go\bin;%PATH%"
+USER ContainerUser
+# doing this first to share cache across versions more aggressively
+
+ENV GOLANG_VERSION 1.16beta1
+
+COPY --from=golang:1.16beta1-windowsservercore-1809 C:\\go C:\\go
+RUN go version
+
+WORKDIR $GOPATH
diff --git a/1.16-rc/windows/windowsservercore-1809/Dockerfile b/1.16-rc/windows/windowsservercore-1809/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c4ea828e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/1.16-rc/windows/windowsservercore-1809/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+#
+# NOTE: THIS DOCKERFILE IS GENERATED VIA "apply-templates.sh"
+#
+# PLEASE DO NOT EDIT IT DIRECTLY.
+#
+
+FROM mcr.microsoft.com/windows/servercore:1809
+
+# $ProgressPreference: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/issues/2138#issuecomment-251261324
+SHELL ["powershell", "-Command", "$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'; $ProgressPreference = 'SilentlyContinue';"]
+
+# install MinGit (especially for "go get")
+# https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/visualstudioalm/2016/09/03/whats-new-in-git-for-windows-2-10/
+# "Essentially, it is a Git for Windows that was stripped down as much as possible without sacrificing the functionality in which 3rd-party software may be interested."
+# "It currently requires only ~45MB on disk."
+ENV GIT_VERSION 2.23.0
+ENV GIT_TAG v${GIT_VERSION}.windows.1
+ENV GIT_DOWNLOAD_URL https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/releases/download/${GIT_TAG}/MinGit-${GIT_VERSION}-64-bit.zip
+ENV GIT_DOWNLOAD_SHA256 8f65208f92c0b4c3ae4c0cf02d4b5f6791d539cd1a07b2df62b7116467724735
+# steps inspired by "chcolateyInstall.ps1" from "git.install" (https://chocolatey.org/packages/git.install)
+RUN Write-Host ('Downloading {0} ...' -f $env:GIT_DOWNLOAD_URL); \
+	[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12; \
+	Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $env:GIT_DOWNLOAD_URL -OutFile 'git.zip'; \
+	\
+	Write-Host ('Verifying sha256 ({0}) ...' -f $env:GIT_DOWNLOAD_SHA256); \
+	if ((Get-FileHash git.zip -Algorithm sha256).Hash -ne $env:GIT_DOWNLOAD_SHA256) { \
+		Write-Host 'FAILED!'; \
+		exit 1; \
+	}; \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Expanding ...'; \
+	Expand-Archive -Path git.zip -DestinationPath C:\git\.; \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Removing ...'; \
+	Remove-Item git.zip -Force; \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Updating PATH ...'; \
+	$env:PATH = 'C:\git\cmd;C:\git\mingw64\bin;C:\git\usr\bin;' + $env:PATH; \
+	[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', $env:PATH, [EnvironmentVariableTarget]::Machine); \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Verifying install ("git version") ...'; \
+	git version; \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Complete.';
+
+# ideally, this would be C:\go to match Linux a bit closer, but C:\go is the recommended install path for Go itself on Windows
+ENV GOPATH C:\\gopath
+
+# PATH isn't actually set in the Docker image, so we have to set it from within the container
+RUN $newPath = ('{0}\bin;C:\go\bin;{1}' -f $env:GOPATH, $env:PATH); \
+	Write-Host ('Updating PATH: {0}' -f $newPath); \
+	[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', $newPath, [EnvironmentVariableTarget]::Machine);
+# doing this first to share cache across versions more aggressively
+
+ENV GOLANG_VERSION 1.16beta1
+
+RUN $url = 'https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.windows-amd64.zip'; \
+	Write-Host ('Downloading {0} ...' -f $url); \
+	Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url -OutFile 'go.zip'; \
+	\
+	$sha256 = 'f06e2d7f300843473527e8fdd2d496aef5ffa6507ade0ac1141934e5c6ca7d63'; \
+	Write-Host ('Verifying sha256 ({0}) ...' -f $sha256); \
+	if ((Get-FileHash go.zip -Algorithm sha256).Hash -ne $sha256) { \
+		Write-Host 'FAILED!'; \
+		exit 1; \
+	}; \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Expanding ...'; \
+	Expand-Archive go.zip -DestinationPath C:\; \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Removing ...'; \
+	Remove-Item go.zip -Force; \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Verifying install ("go version") ...'; \
+	go version; \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Complete.';
+
+WORKDIR $GOPATH
diff --git a/1.16-rc/windows/windowsservercore-ltsc2016/Dockerfile b/1.16-rc/windows/windowsservercore-ltsc2016/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0e62e347
--- /dev/null
+++ b/1.16-rc/windows/windowsservercore-ltsc2016/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+#
+# NOTE: THIS DOCKERFILE IS GENERATED VIA "apply-templates.sh"
+#
+# PLEASE DO NOT EDIT IT DIRECTLY.
+#
+
+FROM mcr.microsoft.com/windows/servercore:ltsc2016
+
+# $ProgressPreference: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/issues/2138#issuecomment-251261324
+SHELL ["powershell", "-Command", "$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'; $ProgressPreference = 'SilentlyContinue';"]
+
+# install MinGit (especially for "go get")
+# https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/visualstudioalm/2016/09/03/whats-new-in-git-for-windows-2-10/
+# "Essentially, it is a Git for Windows that was stripped down as much as possible without sacrificing the functionality in which 3rd-party software may be interested."
+# "It currently requires only ~45MB on disk."
+ENV GIT_VERSION 2.23.0
+ENV GIT_TAG v${GIT_VERSION}.windows.1
+ENV GIT_DOWNLOAD_URL https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/releases/download/${GIT_TAG}/MinGit-${GIT_VERSION}-64-bit.zip
+ENV GIT_DOWNLOAD_SHA256 8f65208f92c0b4c3ae4c0cf02d4b5f6791d539cd1a07b2df62b7116467724735
+# steps inspired by "chcolateyInstall.ps1" from "git.install" (https://chocolatey.org/packages/git.install)
+RUN Write-Host ('Downloading {0} ...' -f $env:GIT_DOWNLOAD_URL); \
+	[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12; \
+	Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $env:GIT_DOWNLOAD_URL -OutFile 'git.zip'; \
+	\
+	Write-Host ('Verifying sha256 ({0}) ...' -f $env:GIT_DOWNLOAD_SHA256); \
+	if ((Get-FileHash git.zip -Algorithm sha256).Hash -ne $env:GIT_DOWNLOAD_SHA256) { \
+		Write-Host 'FAILED!'; \
+		exit 1; \
+	}; \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Expanding ...'; \
+	Expand-Archive -Path git.zip -DestinationPath C:\git\.; \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Removing ...'; \
+	Remove-Item git.zip -Force; \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Updating PATH ...'; \
+	$env:PATH = 'C:\git\cmd;C:\git\mingw64\bin;C:\git\usr\bin;' + $env:PATH; \
+	[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', $env:PATH, [EnvironmentVariableTarget]::Machine); \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Verifying install ("git version") ...'; \
+	git version; \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Complete.';
+
+# ideally, this would be C:\go to match Linux a bit closer, but C:\go is the recommended install path for Go itself on Windows
+ENV GOPATH C:\\gopath
+
+# PATH isn't actually set in the Docker image, so we have to set it from within the container
+RUN $newPath = ('{0}\bin;C:\go\bin;{1}' -f $env:GOPATH, $env:PATH); \
+	Write-Host ('Updating PATH: {0}' -f $newPath); \
+	[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', $newPath, [EnvironmentVariableTarget]::Machine);
+# doing this first to share cache across versions more aggressively
+
+ENV GOLANG_VERSION 1.16beta1
+
+RUN $url = 'https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.windows-amd64.zip'; \
+	Write-Host ('Downloading {0} ...' -f $url); \
+	Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url -OutFile 'go.zip'; \
+	\
+	$sha256 = 'f06e2d7f300843473527e8fdd2d496aef5ffa6507ade0ac1141934e5c6ca7d63'; \
+	Write-Host ('Verifying sha256 ({0}) ...' -f $sha256); \
+	if ((Get-FileHash go.zip -Algorithm sha256).Hash -ne $sha256) { \
+		Write-Host 'FAILED!'; \
+		exit 1; \
+	}; \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Expanding ...'; \
+	Expand-Archive go.zip -DestinationPath C:\; \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Removing ...'; \
+	Remove-Item go.zip -Force; \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Verifying install ("go version") ...'; \
+	go version; \
+	\
+	Write-Host 'Complete.';
+
+WORKDIR $GOPATH
diff --git a/versions.json b/versions.json
index 7dc794fc..9efdf613 100644
--- a/versions.json
+++ b/versions.json
@@ -104,5 +104,57 @@
       "windows/nanoserver-1809"
     ],
     "version": "1.15.6"
+  },
+  "1.16-rc": {
+    "arches": {
+      "amd64": {
+        "arch": "linux-amd64",
+        "sha256": "3931a0d493d411d6c697df6f15d5292fdd8031fde7014fded399effdad4c12d8",
+        "url": "https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.linux-amd64.tar.gz"
+      },
+      "arm32v7": {
+        "arch": "linux-armv6l",
+        "sha256": "2f31ed765b328f79d58f78a433f6e59295b77da63153fc7582f8d8402c344999",
+        "url": "https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.linux-armv6l.tar.gz"
+      },
+      "arm64v8": {
+        "arch": "linux-arm64",
+        "sha256": "b0f66bca136b4de8fd29645b50efa9941dc5b9eb5a67a3da837d5f8096b3431c",
+        "url": "https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.linux-arm64.tar.gz"
+      },
+      "i386": {
+        "arch": "linux-386",
+        "sha256": "d32ca50affc0de30a39b63b19a19668ce539390f3d0fa71e966b726cc28ff92e",
+        "url": "https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.linux-386.tar.gz"
+      },
+      "ppc64le": {
+        "arch": "linux-ppc64le",
+        "sha256": "a099e01f5a55141e5df190bd531ce090b5a00c7c6a49799b483bcbe6aa0e0eab",
+        "url": "https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.linux-ppc64le.tar.gz"
+      },
+      "s390x": {
+        "arch": "linux-s390x",
+        "sha256": "eeda0f0de3fa5daa8e4aa5dc86222f4b6d4b28878e943fb75cdb3d8426844f3c",
+        "url": "https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.linux-s390x.tar.gz"
+      },
+      "src": {
+        "arch": "src",
+        "sha256": "48e032c8cf71af4dc8119a29ee829c4fbd5265e32fd012564d4a70bb207695c1",
+        "url": "https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.src.tar.gz"
+      },
+      "windows-amd64": {
+        "arch": "windows-amd64",
+        "sha256": "f06e2d7f300843473527e8fdd2d496aef5ffa6507ade0ac1141934e5c6ca7d63",
+        "url": "https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.16beta1.windows-amd64.zip"
+      }
+    },
+    "variants": [
+      "buster",
+      "alpine3.12",
+      "windows/windowsservercore-1809",
+      "windows/windowsservercore-ltsc2016",
+      "windows/nanoserver-1809"
+    ],
+    "version": "1.16beta1"
   }
 }