It features remixed versions of tracks from the band's previous studio album Year Zero, created by various producers and recording artists.

This album was the last Nine Inch Nails album to be released by Interscope Records; it fulfilled the band's contractual commitments to the company, leaving Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor to proceed as a "totally free agent, free of any recording contract with any label".

[4] The bonus DVD-ROM included with the CD release contains multi-track files from the entire Year Zero album in GarageBand and Ableton Live formats, as well as a demo version of the Ableton Live software, and 44100 Hz WAV-format files of the album's individual track portions, for use in any non-linear music editing software such as Cakewalk Sonar or Pro Tools.

The Ladytron remix of "The Beginning of the End" on the album incorporates the outro motif from the 1994 Nine Inch Nails song "Closer".

[11] The Toronto Star stated, "Year Zero Remixed enlists a commendably eclectic assortment of artists.