diff --git a/src/mono/CMakeLists.txt b/src/mono/CMakeLists.txt
index 69b00b3b333ed0..8c7aec769e20c7 100644
--- a/src/mono/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/mono/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -111,6 +111,10 @@ if((CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID STREQUAL "GNU") OR(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID STREQUAL "Cla
   set(GCC 1)
 endif()
 
+if(DISABLE_INTERPRETER)
+  unset(ENABLE_METADATA_UPDATE)
+endif()
+
 add_definitions(-DHAVE_CONFIG_H)
 add_definitions(-DMONO_DLL_EXPORT)
 
diff --git a/src/mono/Directory.Build.props b/src/mono/Directory.Build.props
index 7d83083b9358a6..334926ec134d65 100644
--- a/src/mono/Directory.Build.props
+++ b/src/mono/Directory.Build.props
@@ -52,4 +52,11 @@
     <AndroidTestRunnerProjDirectory>$([MSBuild]::NormalizeDirectory('$(LibrariesProjectRoot)', 'Common', tests, 'AndroidTestRunner'))</AndroidTestRunnerProjDirectory>
     <MonoAOTCompilerProjDirectory>$([MSBuild]::NormalizeDirectory('$(RepoTasksDir)', 'AotCompilerTask'))</MonoAOTCompilerProjDirectory>
   </PropertyGroup>
+
+  <!-- Feature defaults for mono.proj and System.Private.CoreLib.csproj -->
+  <PropertyGroup>
+    <!-- default metadata update support for specific platforms -->
+    <MonoMetadataUpdate Condition="'$(MonoMetadataUpdate)' == '' and ('$(TargetsAndroid)' == 'true' or '$(TargetsBrowser)' == 'true')">true</MonoMetadataUpdate>
+    <MonoMetadataUpdate Condition="'$(MonoMetadataUpdate)' == ''">false</MonoMetadataUpdate>
+  </PropertyGroup>
 </Project>
diff --git a/src/mono/mono.proj b/src/mono/mono.proj
index 0c7077d0e59de4..a6deb0ec13cfe3 100644
--- a/src/mono/mono.proj
+++ b/src/mono/mono.proj
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
       - MonoAOTEnableLLVM - enable LLVM for an AOT-only Mono
       - MonoAOTLLVMDir - [optional] the directory where LLVM is located, for an AOT-only Mono
       - MonoVerboseBuild - enable verbose build
-      - MonoMetadataUpdate - enable experimental method body replacement code
+      - MonoMetadataUpdate - enable experimental method body replacement code (in Directory.Build.props)
       - MonoThreadSuspend - coop,hybrid,preemptive - default thread suspend mode
   -->
 
@@ -321,9 +321,8 @@
       <_MonoAOTCXXFLAGS Include="-Wl,--build-id=sha1" />
     </ItemGroup>
 
-    <!-- Experimental features -->
+    <!-- Devloop features -->
     <ItemGroup Condition="'$(MonoMetadataUpdate)' == 'true'">
-      <!-- FIXME: Add sanity check that the interpreter is enabled -->
       <_MonoCMakeArgs Include="-DENABLE_METADATA_UPDATE=1" />
     </ItemGroup>
 
@@ -442,8 +441,7 @@
       <MonoAOTCMakeArgs Condition="'$(MonoAOTEnableLLVM)' == 'true'" Include="-DLLVM_PREFIX=$(MonoAOTLLVMDir)" />
       <MonoAOTCMakeArgs Include="$(_MonoAOTCFLAGSOption)" />
       <MonoAOTCMakeArgs Include="$(_MonoAOTCXXFLAGSOption)" />
-      <!-- Experimental features -->
-      <!-- FIXME: Add sanity check that the interpreter is enabled -->
+      <!-- Devloop features -->
       <MonoAOTCMakeArgs Condition="'$(MonoMetadataUpdate)' == 'true'" Include="-DENABLE_METADATA_UPDATE=1" />
 
       <!-- thread suspend -->
diff --git a/src/mono/netcore/System.Private.CoreLib/System.Private.CoreLib.csproj b/src/mono/netcore/System.Private.CoreLib/System.Private.CoreLib.csproj
index 859992bcca249f..a847064b9e68eb 100644
--- a/src/mono/netcore/System.Private.CoreLib/System.Private.CoreLib.csproj
+++ b/src/mono/netcore/System.Private.CoreLib/System.Private.CoreLib.csproj
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
+<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
   <!-- Generate Mono corelib version file -->
   <Import Project="GenerateMonoCoreLibVersionFile.targets" />
 
diff --git a/src/mono/wasm/wasm.proj b/src/mono/wasm/wasm.proj
index 092c10cbf17ec0..f78fd846ae6211 100644
--- a/src/mono/wasm/wasm.proj
+++ b/src/mono/wasm/wasm.proj
@@ -16,6 +16,11 @@
     <WasmEnableMetadataUpdate Condition="'$(MonoMetadataUpdate)' == 'true'">true</WasmEnableMetadataUpdate>
   </PropertyGroup>
 
+  <PropertyGroup>
+    <!-- TODO: set to "false" for publishing/production builds -->
+    <MonoMetadataUpdate Condition="'$(MonoMetadataUpdate)' == ''">true</MonoMetadataUpdate>
+  </PropertyGroup>
+
   <Target Name="CheckEnv">
     <Error Condition="'$(TargetArchitecture)' != 'wasm'" Text="Expected TargetArchitecture==wasm, got '$(TargetArchitecture)'"/>
     <Error Condition="'$(TargetOS)' != 'Browser'" Text="Expected TargetOS==Browser, got '$(TargetOS)'"/>