It was written alongside Andrew Murray, S-X, Richard Boardman of the disbanded Delphic, Pablo Bowman, and Mojam, who produced it with Digital Farm Animals.

The song additionally entered the music charts of Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, Sweden and the United States.

"[2] KSI and Anne-Marie confirmed shortly after the release of "Don't Play" that they had already started working on a second collaboration.

[7][8] "Don't Play" was released for digital download and streaming as a single on 15 January 2021 at 00:00 (UTC) by Asylum Records and Warner.

Contact Music called "Don't Play" a "floor-filling banger" with "an infectious beat and some great vocal interplay between Anne-Marie and KSI".

They found that Anne-Marie's "sweet harmonies contrast and compliment KSI's deeper, almost baritone delivery", and called the song "instantly likeable and radio friendly".

[5] GRM Daily's Courtney Wynter called Anne-Marie's vocals "delicate" and said that "KSI switches things up by delivering some affectionate lyrics with a more melodic approach than we’re used to".

[3][4][10][13] The video pays homage to Anne-Marie’s background in Karate and KSI's participation in numerous boxing fights against other YouTubers.

On 24 September 2021, "Don't Play" was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for exceeding sales of 600,000 track-equivalent units in the UK.

In the Republic of Ireland, "Don't Play" debuted at number nine on the Irish Singles Chart, making it the highest-placed new entry of that week.