Hello! The situation is that most games I play via Steam doesn't work in Parallels (or work with major visual glitches) compared to running the same games via CrossOver (including DX11 games). I am on Apple Silicon M4 Max MacOS 15.5, running Windows 11 VM. Is it the limitation of Parallels? or did I misconfigure something? Is it something planned for future versions of Parallels? I just though that these two pieces of software are kind of similar speaking of games. If it is, is it a proper place to ask for help with configuration? I tried to copy/paste some boot flags from the Internet and forums. It didn't work out, and I am not sure I understand what I am doing in any case. What info would you need from my side? Thanks!
Almost any game or app that requires DirectX 12 won't work in Parallels. We have been waiting literally for years for this to be added. Crossover supports DirectX 12 and games/apps that work in it seem to work well, but not all do. For example it won't run Office 365 or many Windows apps that Parallels well. Some games (including newly released ones) work, other do not. On the CrossOver web page you can search by game/app to see if it is working. Not a perfect situation for Windows compatibility, but it's the best we have at present.
DirectX 11 games usually run pretty well on Parallels. If DX 11 game runs in CrossOver but not Parallels then either something is not configured correctly or resources are limited. CrossOver takes less RAM for example because you are running a compatibility layer around a windows game where as Parallels runs ARM based Windows and your game runs in that (so you are running MacOS and Windows 11 ARM)
This is a good general information place to start https://kb.parallels.com/en/122485 This has more info and talks about Steam gaming https://www.parallels.com/blogs/steam-games-mac/ For example if a PC game says that it recommends 12 GB of RAM your Mac needs more than that. Some people say that the PC gets about half of the Mac's RAM, but there is some wiggle room about the exact optimal amount. So if your Mac has 36 GB running it should be no problem in Parallels. If your Mac has 16 GB of RAM half would be 8 GB which is not the 12 the game recommends. The game would likely still run but it may stutter or have some graphics artifacts. Likely lowering resolution or graphics effects would help. Crossover defaults to a lower resolution screen (at least on my MacBook Pro) and then scales the game up. This uses less RAM and allows some games to play without stuttering. There is a HD setting for Crossover to allow games to play at higher resolution (if your Mac can do so without problems). So if you have to set the resolution a little below your maximum screen resolution it won't make as much difference as you may think.
