The phrase “cross-platform game” might conjure up images of Xbox Live and PC gaming, or turn-based games that work across Android and iPhone. But what about Mac and iOS?

That’s the big news for Battle Nations fans this week. They can play now the popular game across both Apple mobile devices and Macs, after Seattle-based game maker Z2Live started offering Battle Nations for free on Mac OS X, building on its existing presence on iOS.

The upgrade lets users “move seamlessly between the two platforms,” giving them the ability to access the same game data and progress across devices, according to Z2Live.

Battle Nations, a combat strategy game that involves commanding troops and competing with other gamers worldwide, is played more than 1.5 million sessions a day in seven languages. The Mac version coincides with the sixth major update to the game, which launched just last November.

So why expand to Mac?

“The OS X launch of Battle Nations is the tip of the iceberg for our cross-platform strategy,” marketing director Beau Ross tells us. “Apple has established itself as a key distribution partner for game developers; so as we vet new platforms, we are looking to forge strategic partnerships that can help us deliver our beloved games to the world.”

Battle Nations also won Mobile App of the Year at GeekWire’s  Seattle 2.0 Startup Awards in May, edging out other popular apps like One Bus Away, Glympse, Swype and PaperKarma.

Here’s a cool little video that shows the new cross-platform game in action:

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