In March 2011, during a press conference in Vietnam, the band stated that for the first time, they had complete creative control because they were no longer with Jive.

[9][10] In November 2011, after the US leg of the NKOTBSB tour ended, Carter said in an interview that they hoped to get a single out in the spring of 2012 and the album in the summer of 2012.

[12] In April 2012, a week before the European leg of the NKOTBSB tour started, the group, along with original member Kevin Richardson, went to London to meet with producer Martin Terefe and to write some songs.

[13] On April 29, 2012, the group announced that Richardson had rejoined them permanently[14] and in July 2012, all five members moved into a house together all by themselves in London to work on the new album.

[15] Besides Terefe, they also wrote songs with Sacha Skarbek and Craig David while in London,[16][17] and in the US they worked with Morgan Taylor Reid, Mika Guillory, GoodWill & MGI,[18] Lucas Hilbert, Geo Slam, and Porcelain Black.

[19][20] On July 27, 2012, the group held a lottery for fans to win a chance to hear rough mixes of their new album at their studio in London.

[3] In July 2012, Richardson stated in an interview that the album would be authentic and personal and that they hoped Terefe would produce the entire record.

[27] The album itself is a mixture of modern pop, adult contemporary, and dance music, with a hint of singer/songwriter genre as demonstrated on "Try," "Madeleine," and "Trust Me.

[46] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic found it "far more interesting" sonically than the two last albums and stated, "In a World Like This is a surprisingly mature and fine record from a former boy band that seems unafraid to act its age.

The track keeps the Backstreet Boys’ sensibilities, allowing their strong harmonies to come to the fore on the chorus and giving each member vocal parts.

[48] In a mixed review, Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian opined that "their last record, released 2009, recreated the dance-pop of their golden era; this time, perhaps goaded by fear of looking foolish, they've abandoned the beats for mid-tempo adult pop.

The album was released in most other countries in August 2013 and reached number one in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Japan International Chart.