diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 3f1b6876e7..e5f9f8e0a5 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -576,9 +576,7 @@ ui-zuul-lint-and-test:
 awx/ui_next/node_modules:
 	$(NPM_BIN) --prefix awx/ui_next install
 
-ui-release-next:
-	mkdir -p awx/ui_next/build/static
-	touch awx/ui_next/build/static/.placeholder
+ui-release-next: ui-devel-next
 
 ui-devel-next: awx/ui_next/node_modules
 	$(NPM_BIN) --prefix awx/ui_next run extract-strings