The creation of CD-i discs involves the development of audio and video assets and an interactive program. CD-i uses a real-time operating system called CD-RTOS (Compact Disc Real-Time Operating System). CD-RTOS is a specialized operating system designed specifically for CD-i and is based on the OS-9 real-time, multi-tasking operating system.

CD-i titles can be developed through the use of an authoring system, such as MediaMogul from OptImage, or may involve custom software engineering, using C or 68000 assembly language programming. As a rule, if the title design is complex or if the design requires a great deal of interactivity, custom software engineering is required. The software engineering effort can be reduced through the use of software development tools and specialized software libraries, such as the Balboa Run-Time System.