When Microsoft demoed Blazor in 2018—a framework for running C# in the browser via WebAssembly—few took it seriously. DevExpress did. By (late 2019), they released experimental Blazor components. Version v20.1 made them production-ready: a DataGrid , Scheduler , and Charts that ran on both Blazor Server and WebAssembly. This was a bet on the future, and it paid off. By v21.2 , the Blazor suite included over 50 components, from Ribbons to File Managers, all written in C#.
Perhaps the most controversial change has been the licensing model. Starting around , DevExpress aggressively pushed its Universal Subscription as the only practical entry point. While expensive, the subscription provides continuous updates, priority support, and access to all platforms (WinForms, WPF, WebForms, MVC, Blazor, MAUI). The release cadence—three major versions per year (v.1 in spring, v.2 in summer, v.3 in winter)—has remained unbroken, delivering hundreds of bug fixes and new features annually. devexpress version history
In the annals of .NET development, few third-party toolkits have commanded the same level of respect, loyalty, and occasional frustration as DevExpress. Since its inception in the early 2000s, the company’s component library—often colloquially called "DevEx"—has evolved from a simple collection of WinForms grids into a sprawling ecosystem that touches every major Microsoft UI framework. Tracing the version history of DevExpress is not merely a technical exercise; it is a chronicle of how the .NET platform itself matured, pivoted, and faced the challenges of web, mobile, and cross-platform development. The Dawn: WinForms and the ASP.NET Web Forms Era (2002–2008) The story of DevExpress begins in the era of .NET Framework 1.0 and 1.1. At a time when the native DataGridView was the standard for Windows Forms, DevExpress introduced the XtraGrid —a component that redefined expectations. Early versions (v2002, v2003) focused on performance and in-place editing, offering features like banded columns and master-detail views that the stock controls lacked. When Microsoft demoed Blazor in 2018—a framework for