Worlds is the debut studio album by the American electronic music producer Porter Robinson, released on August 12, 2014, by Astralwerks. Initially known for his heavier bass-centric production, Robinson became increasingly dissatisfied with the electronic dance music (EDM) genre, believing it limited his artistic expression. In 2012, Robinson released his first song with a greater emphasis on melody, "Language", and decided thereafter to prioritize aesthetic and emotional qualities in his work. He was inspired by media that evoked nostalgia for his childhood, and wrote music integrating elements taken from anime, films, and sounds from 1990s video games.

Robinson's primary inspirations for Worlds were Daft Punk's Discovery (2001) and Kanye West's Graduation (2007). Critics described the work as electropop, noting similarities to the styles of M83 and Passion Pit. In late 2013, a bidding war broke out among record labels over which of them would release the record. The album was preceded by four singles: "Sea of Voices", "Sad Machine", "Lionhearted", and "Flicker", and promoted with a tour in North America and Europe.

Worlds was well received by most critics, who praised it as innovative and forecasted a promising career for Robinson, though others felt the record lacked coherence or was unexciting. Retrospectively, the album was noted for its impact on the EDM scene. It charted in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Netherlands. Following Worlds's positive reception, Robinson felt pressured to write an appropriate follow-up work. As a result, he experienced a period of writer's block and depression, leading to the seven-year gap until his next studio album, Nurture (2021).

I feel more strongly about this music that I've written for this album than anything I've ever done in my life. I think it would be doing myself a disservice not to say that overtly. If I didn't totally believe in this, then no one would ever hear it.

Porter Robinson was initially known for his electro and complextro music, such as the 2010 single "Say My Name" and the 2011 extended play Spitfire; Robinson described his initial sound as "very heavy" and "bass-aggressive". "Say My Name" topped Beatport's electro house chart, while Spitfire caused the website to crash after being promoted by Skrillex and Tiësto.

Across 2012, Robinson performed at major electronic dance music (EDM) festivals, but gradually became dissatisfied with the genre. He mentioned having four or five intense anxiety attacks that year while performing, at one point shouting that "dance music is terrible" during a show. Robinson came to believe that the genre limited his expression; in an interview with NME, he said "[EDM] is entertainment, it's not really art". Robinson felt that by attempting to add DJ-friendly and dance-oriented features to his music, he frequently compromised and diminished the quality of his songs.

Robinson conceived the idea for Worlds in 2012 following the release of "Language", his first song to have a greater emphasis on melody. Although it was a departure from his earlier sound, "Language" was accepted by audiences, surprising Robinson. As a result, he decided to prioritize "beauty" and "emotion" in his music, which became his first principles for Worlds. He also considered it necessary to be "sincere" and "honest". Rather than creating club-oriented music, he chose to produce the music he wanted to hear and believed should exist. In 2013, he released "Easy" with Mat Zo, which Andy Kellman of AllMusic characterized as one of the standout commercial dance singles of the year.

Robinson moved to his parents' home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and spent a year revisiting soundtracks of Nintendo 64 video games from the 1990s and 2000s. Robinson produced the album in FL Studio, and wrote around 50 tracks for the album, which were later narrowed to 12 on the final tracklist. In a May 2013 interview, Robinson said he had set July as the deadline to finish the album, and that the title still had not been chosen. When Robinson signed with Astralwerks in November 2013, the album was nearly complete. Robinson collaborated with Spanish illustrator David Aguado to create the album's artwork and design.