"Temple of Apshai" was very successful. Automated Simulations reported that it had sold 20,000 copies of the game by 1981. By 30 June 1982, it was 30,000 copies. After the Commodore 64 Version was released in 1983, it appeared on top of the "Compute! Gazette" list of best-selling Commodore 64 Entertainment programs, generated from surveys with retailers and distributors. It constantly remained among the five best-selling Commodore 64 games according to that list until the column was discontinued after March 1984. The VIC-20 version also appeared on the list of best-selling games for that system from December 1983 onwards. At the middle of June 1983, the wholesale software distributor Softsel International placed "Temple of Apshai" seventh in a list of best-selling computer games, compiled from sales to 4,000 retail outlets in 50 states and 30 countries. By that time, the game had been in the distributor's top 50 chart for 38 weeks. "Temple of Apshai" was Epyx's third best-selling Commodore game as of late 1987.