[dividedbyzero]

Could that also work for to old-ish software, like a decade old or so, or does this require applications to be optimized or compiled for it? And is this something Parallels is required for or could one test that without buying Parallels?

[zamadatix]

The Windows x86 -> Windows ARM works with any 32 or 64 bit apps unmodified and is a part of Windows itself. It's basically the Windows version of Rosetta 2. I use it to run an ancient Windows app on my work M1 MacBook.

Parallels comes into play if you want your Windows VM to have GPU acceleration. If you don't care about that you can just use UTM for free to run the Windows ARM VM on your M1/M2 MacBook.

[dividedbyzero]

Whoa, I wasn't aware of UTM at all. Thanks for the pointer!