Embodiments herein describe techniques, systems, and method for a semiconductor device that may include an III-V transistor with a resistive gate contact. A semiconductor device may include a substrate, and a channel base including a layer of GaN above the substrate. A channel stack may be above the channel base, and may include a layer of GaN in the channel stack, and a polarization layer above the layer of GaN in the channel stack. A gate stack may be above the channel stack, where the gate stack may include a gate dielectric layer above the channel stack, and a resistive gate contact above the gate dielectric layer. The resistive gate contact may include silicon (Si) or germanium (Ge). Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.