Can i make an mmorpg now and implement a server later?

Question is pretty straightforward, just wanting to know if i can start developing an mmorpg game right now with my game engine and get a server started later. I want to finish the game and then buy about $1,000,000 worth of servers which would be around 10 I think giving me a game population of 20,000 for the release day. Can i do this or do i need a server from the get go?Can i make an mmorpg now and implement a server later?
This is how I think it goes: You can start program the game now, get all the characters and background arts down and meshed with each other (i.e. no clipping or anything like that). Then you will need to test run your game in an environment that it will run it, that means a server. But that doesnt mean you have to to buy a million dollars worth of server hardwares, just one fast machine that can take care of a test crowd of maybe 10 or 20. So you do need to get a game server running very soon after you have the alpha codes of your game compiled, otherwise how else would you get into beta phase?Can i make an mmorpg now and implement a server later?
You can make the game then implement the server later.

lip liner