Disclosed herein are various methods of forming metal silicide regions on semiconductor devices. In one example, the method includes forming a sacrificial gate structure above a semiconducting substrate, performing a selective metal silicide formation process to form metal silicide regions in source/drain regions formed in or above the substrate, after forming the metal silicide regions, removing the sacrificial gate structure to define a gate opening and forming a replacement gate structure in the gate opening, the replacement gate structure comprised of at least one metal layer.