This CD-only recording was available in an interactive version on Philips' short-lived CD-i format, as well as the Macintosh and Windowsoperating systems. The interactive version included the ability to alter the playback of the music by selecting a pre-determined sequence by either Rundgren or one of his four guest producers - Don Was, Jerry Harrison, Hal Wilner and Bob Clearmountain. The interface allowed the listener to control various aspects of music playback. If the user did nothing, the Rundgren mix would start and play through to the end. The interactive interface presented standard playback controls and the following major functions, plus a help function:
Program
Direction
Form
Tempo
Mood
Mix
Video
The material on the disc was 933 4-bar musical segments. Each was a portion of one of the songs, accompanied by metadata describing the character of the segment - tempo in BPM, mood, chorus or verse, etc. Each segment was available in multiple mixes as well, from instrumental to a cappella. As the listener adjusted parameters, the currently playing segment would finish before starting a new segment, ensuring a seamless listening experience. The interface had the unique property of allowing the user to select a range rather than a single value when adjusting a parameter. One could select a fast tempo, reducing the range so only that fast tempo segments were played, or increase the range so medium to fast were played, weighting towards fast. Rundgren demonstrated No World Order and the Philips CD-i system at record stores and electronics retailers after the release of the disc, and can be found on YouTube: and . The tour for the album was designed to maximize interactivity with the audience, allowing members to dance on a raised portion of the stage, and even to guest solo on guitar. Rundgren was the only performer on this tour apart from three female dancers. The interactive program received "Best Composition/Arrangement" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, and the "Best Interactive Disc of the Year" Award from Video magazine. The editors of Electronic Entertainment presented it with their 1993 "Breakthrough Multimedia Title" award, and praised it as "a preview of a new kind of musical medium."
A non-interactive, audio-only CD was released simultaneously with Rundgren's preferred sequence. Even this version, however, played on the theme of interactivity and lack of order: its nearly continuous flow supported random play, and its paper insert could be refolded and reinserted so as to display any of 16 alternate versions of the cover art. Another version of the album, No World Order Lite, was released the following year, presenting the same material in a more song-oriented format. In Japan a promotional disc, NWO , was released that contains alternate versions of "Fascist Christ," "Property," "Day Job," and "Fever Broke." An "expanded edition" reissue compiling all of the previous versions, plus fourbonus tracks, was released by Esoteric/Cherry Red Records on November 8, 2011. On digital platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify, "Day Job " is missing from this reissue even though its title is included in the track listing; ten tracks on "disc two" are mislabeled, starting with "Proactivity," which is actually "Time Stood Still," and ending with "Day Job ," which is "Property ." A limited-edition DVD of the 1993-'94 "World Tour" was issued by Toddstore in 2014. It includes a range of bonus video from the era, including footage of a CD-i demonstration by Rundgren at Tower Records in Chicago and two interviews from the period with Indianapolis TV journalist Ken Owen.
