It was released on September 6, 2013, by Interscope Records as a full concert on all formats including a double-disc CD, DVD, and Blu-ray.

Madonna had spent six months editing the footage from the films and together with Tull and Sennour, she developed the video for the songs she had performed as a mini-movie.

After the release, news outlets around the world wrote about bad manufacturing of the CD and DVD, with many buyers reportedly choosing to return their purchase.

[1] An electronic album, MDNA lyrically explores themes such as partying, love for music, infatuation, as well as heartbreak, revenge and separation.

[10] The tour visited America, Europe and the Middle East, while also marking the singer's first performances in the United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Scotland and Colombia.

[11] Described by her as "the journey of a soul from darkness to light", the MDNA Tour was divided into four sections: Transgression, where guns and violence was the main theme, Prophecy, where a mix of joyful songs that bring people together are performed, Masculine/Feminine, a combination of sensuality and fashion with a few of Madonna's classic songs performed in a French Cabaret-style, and Redemption, which Madonna labelled as "a big party and celebration".

[18] Instead, Madonna announced on her Facebook page that the November 19 and 20 shows in Miami, at the American Airlines Arena, would be filmed for the upcoming tour DVD and Blu-ray release.

[20] On June 18, the concert special had a world premiere screening at the Paris Theater, in New York City, with Madonna attending the event in a press conference with the media, celebrities, and fans.

[29] The singer wore a black tuxedo and a top hat to the premiere, the ensemble being a tribute to actress Marlene Dietrich and her similar attire in the 1930 film, Morocco.

[31] Arnold Wayne Jones from the Dallas Voice gave the album four out of five stars, writing that the show "has all of the Material Girl's majesty and fetishistic eroticism, merged with lots of disturbing, violent imagery and a huge catalog of songs".

He concluded the review by saying that " Making perfect use of her dancers, the video screens and the sets, the MDNA World Tour is one of [Madonna's] most spectacular to date and she still performs with the passion and the energy she always has done.

"[39] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic awarded the release three out of five stars, saying that "there are unexpected musical moments that do make MDNA World Tour worth hearing", including the performance of "Like a Virgin" and "Like a Prayer".

[32] The North Jersey Media Group gave the DVD 2.5 starts out of five, saying that Madonna felt to be "overly" attached to her contemporary songs than her classic releases.

They added "that plodding through overlong arrangements of inconsequential songs — from the annoyingly vocoder-treated 'Revolver' early to the throwaway dance cut 'Celebration' at the end — will leave listeners wondering why so many substantial hits were given only a nod, if anything at all.

In fact, it makes it sound as if Madonna is on a cabaret stage with a five-piece band... For the six months it took Madge to edit her concert, one would wish she got her vocals to match her lips.

[40] In an online chat with website Reddit, Madonna addressed the concerns regarding the mastering issues with the DVD and Blu-ray in Europe, saying that she was horrified about the glitches and her record label was solving it.

[43] In the United States, MDNA World Tour failed to debut within the top-forty of the Billboard 200, unlike her previous live albums, and entered at number 90 with 4,000 copies sold becoming her 26th entry on the chart.

[47] A midweek prediction by Music Week magazine had MDNA World Tour listed at position 37 of the UK Albums Chart.

Its lowest position was attained in Belgium Flanders region, where it failed to enter the top 100 of the Ultratop chart, reaching a peak of number 116.