Year Zero is an alternate reality game (ARG) based on the Nine Inch Nails concept album of the same name, its expected follow-up, and a possible accompanying film or television project. Although the album was released on April 16, 2007 in Europe, and the following day worldwide, the game has been underway since roughly February 12, 2007 and was expected to continue for approximately eighteen months. The game was created by 42 Entertainment, the same group responsible for the Halo 2 promotional alternative reality game I Love Bees. Trent Reznor, frontman and sole member of the band, has called the game "a new entertainment form". In response to criticism regarding the promotion of the album, Reznor stated:

Reznor said that Year Zero is a concept album, "could be about the end of the world", and marked a "shift in direction" in that it "doesn't sound like With Teeth." The 2006 tour merchandise designs featured overt references to the United States military, which "reflects future directions."