On May 13, Epic Games published a blog detailing Ranked Play, which was updated on May 16 hours before the competitive mode released to tell players that Trios would get shelved for the foreseeable future:

"Please note that the Trios mode will be vaulted in Battle Royale and Zero Build in v24.40," the updated note reads.

Epic Games has yet to explain why Trios got removed in Fortnite days later, fueling player backlash across the internet. One player on Reddit explained Trios "was the only good way to play with [their] friends."

Another user responding to the news argued, "this [was] a horrible change. I mostly play with two other players and we were so happy when Trios was first added. What the h--l are they doing?"

Some players on that thread speculate Epic Games got rid of Trios to give Ranked Play a smoother launch.

The theory aligns with the thoughts of Twitch streamer SypherPK, who stated, "I know some people are upset about this, but with Ranked mode coming [the] player count could get really split, and queue times could get out of hand."

So far, we only have assumptions, but players are calling for Epic to communicate the reasoning behind the removal.