The problem is the same as with universities increasingly relying on adjunct professors. The work sucks by definition and is all the people taking it can get in their industry. The game industry is notoriously rough on its employees in general.
I've heard anecdotes, and from an employee's POV, I think some sort of organization might be worthwhile. However, as this was a contract job through a temp agency, and as it seems like they treated him fairly well, it seems his expectations might have been a bit unrealistic. As the development of games is so cyclical, and as so many young people would love to be paid $11/hr to test games, I don't think this position is really a good place to take a stance. It doesn't sound like he landed another option with 50+ resumes sent out, and his experience was very thin. Furthermore, when he decided that he didn't like things, he stopped showing up. IMHO he should know better. At the very least he could have walked away from a bad job with a good reference. Now he doesn't even have that. The job he had would be a good one to get a little experience early in the industry, and it was through a temp agency. That's how building a career from the bottom works. It doesn't seem like they came even close to "working him to death", and he was hired as an outside temp contractor for a low-skill job that many people want. There may be problems in gaming industry employment, but I don't see this as a major one.The game industry is notoriously rough on its employees in general.
One of the reasons I took this job was because they sold me on the fact that, if I did well, and showed promise, that it would be a real possibility to get hired on full-time. I sure as hell did not accept it for the whopping pay rate of $11 an hour.
They will work you to death and they will promise you potential, but it is for nothing. You will never truly be a part of anything.